The Rising Falcon
by xBrokenSin
Summary: .AU.NarutoBleach Crossover. When the shinigami was called to seal the Kyuubi no Kitsune because of the Shiki Fuujin, he took a special intrest in the jinchuuriki.
1. Prologue

AN: Yo everybody! This is xBrokenSin and I want to give you a little info before I get on with the story. I actually finished this chapter like 2 months ago but I was soooo lazy I was like, meh. But today I just decided ot post it so, yah.

Anyway, to really understand this story I suggest at least 1 volume/5 episodes of Naruto and the arrancar arc for Bleach. Also, you don't have to know much about Naruto because I'm just stealing him and Kyuubi for this story. O.o

Read and review, pl0x.

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

**xXx**

Prologue: Something to Hold Onto

**xXx**

The Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure stood before the village councils who were all sitting in a semicircle. Candles burned brightly in each corner of the room casting their faces in shadows and making them look more intimidating than they were. The old Hokage wore his battle gear, having just gotten off the battle field himself and had a small bundle of cloth held protectively in his arms. A small hand reached out of the bundle to pull on the old man's beard, revealing a small blue eyed baby with three thin whisker-like marks on each cheek and a small tuft of blond hair on his head. Although the scene was cute, none of the council members looked at the child with affection. Most looked at the child with hard gazes, willing him to turn to dust under their glare, while others looked neutral trying not to judge because of something of which the child had no part.

The one reason for the meeting was the child. The baby the old man held was the container of the Kyuubi no Kitsune whom the Yandaime Hokage sealed inside the child at the cost of his own life by using a forbidden jutsu called the Shiki Fuujin.

"Is that the demon child?" a man with graying hair and beard asked. Although everyone knew he was they still needed an affirmation of sorts before voicing their displeasure.

"Yes," the old man sighed, the only one looking at the child with affection. "This is the _container_ of the demon."

Murmurs rose in the room as the council talked quietly amongst themselves. After a while of quiet conversations another man who was balding at the front scoffed. "Whatever he is, we should either kill him or have him removed from the village."

There were several nods of agreement to this and the old man stiffened and tightened his grip on the gurgling baby slightly. "This child is the hero of this village! He bears a grave burden forced on him at birth and without him we would all be dead. We should treat him with respect for all that he is and will go through for this village. Besides, Yandaime's last request was for the child to be raised in this village and seen as a hero. We must honor his dying wish."

The man with graying hair and beard sighed and removed his green glasses to rub his eyes tiredly. "Be that as it may Sarutobi, the village will never accept him. We could save him and everyone else much grief if we just removed him from the village. They will just use him as a means to take their aggression out on." '_Like some, are doing now'_ he added mentally.

Sarutobi sighed. He knew what his old friend said was true but the child had just as much a right to be a citizen of Konoha as much as anyone else. If anything, he had more of a right. He knew the adults would not make life easy for the child, but at least he could try to keep him from being hated by the next generation. That way he could make friends who would make his childhood better. "How about we make this an S class village secret punishable by law. No one is to speak of how we truly defeated the Kyuubi to anyone who doesn't already know and if they do we will send them to be _reeducated_ by Morino Ibiki. This way we can keep an eye on the child while doing our best to give him as close to a regular childhood as we probably can."

The man with the glasses sighed. He did not know why his old teammate was so adamant about keeping the container in the village but he would give his support and hope that nothing too bad would come out of it.

Of course, no one noticed the black robed figure grin and open his blood-red eyes to stare at the small child wrapped in the old mans hands.

**xXx**

_Eight years later . . . _

Uzumaki Naruto shivered as he wrapped his small arms around himself to try to warm himself up. He wore an oversized black T-shirt and oversized black shorts that he had found in a box in an alley one night. His tattered sandals did hardly anything to protect his feet and his matted blond hair barely moved as the wind whipped through the air and made him shiver. His clothes were worn out and had multiple rips and tears when random villagers had attacked him. Dried blood stained some parts of the clothes a deep purple color where he had tried to wash the blood out in a river. Dried tears stained his cheeks and his eyes were a dulled blue instead of the sparkling crystal blue they normally wore.

The old lady had kicked him out of the orphanage today but not before they gave him his weekly beating and forced him to find shelter outside.

He had thought about trying to find the Hokage but today was his birthday and he knew better than to wander around. He did not know exactly why people hated him or why they hated him even more on his birthday, all he knew was that he had been born on the day that Yandaime had defeated the Kyuubi.

He heard people partying and having fun down the street at the festival but did not dare go out. Last year he had gone and he had been cornered by a group of drunken villagers who told him to avoid the festival if he wanted to live. He did not doubt that they would make good on there promise.

The blond haired boy turned when he heard a noise and said a word he had heard a man say when he had dropped a box on his foot. Coming through the front of the alley were drunken villagers who no doubt wanted a pleasant secluded place to throw up and pass out. He curled into himself and hoped they did not see him, but luck must have been on lunch break because they spotted him with a slurred cry of 'deemun!'.

He stumbled to his feet when the drunkards begin to run toward him with all the grace of a dizzy pregnant penguin.

The young boy needed somewhere to hide. If he ran fast enough and kept his head low people probably would not see his whisker marks and recognize him. He ran out of the alley and cursed when he realized he was heading through the festival. Naruto ducked through legs trying to find somewhere safe to spend the night when he bumped into a muscled leg. He let out a cry of surprise and fell on his butt. He stood up quickly and lowered his head so that his bangs covered his eyes. He covered his face with his hands in hope that the man would not recognize him.

"Hey brat, you okay?" he asked gruffly, his voice holding only a hint of concern. Naruto nodded mutely and tried to step around the man. However, he reached out and caught his hand and removed it from his face. "What's wrong kid, you crying? Jeeze, you didn't fall that hard." He paused when he got a good look at Naruto's wide-eyed stare and his eyes shifted to his whisker marks. By now Naruto was shivering in fear and hoped that the man did not make a scene. Yet unfortunately, misfortune was taking luck's place and they were out to get him.

He pushed Naruto down and kicked him for good measure. "Get lost demon brat," he snarled and walked away. Naruto whimpered when he felt the kick connect to his stomach and tried to pull himself up but another man must have overheard as the man took that moment to get a cheap shot at Naruto's back.

Naruto just lay there breathing hard as he tried to hold back tears and a crowd gathered around him to see what was wrong. When they noticed it was just the blond-haired jinchuuriki some begin to turn away or hide their children's eyes while the braver souls tried to work up the crowd into a frenzy.

_"Hey it's the demon brat!"_

_"Look. It's the monster child!"_

Before long, a drunken angry circle had arrived around Naruto. One man picked him up over his shoulder and began to lead them to an alley and away from the people at the festivals eyes. When Naruto felt himself being picked up, he began to struggle and cry for help as the tears he had tried to stop begin flowing freely down his face. He only cried harder when the people he called look like they wanted to help before they turned away so they would not have to look.

The man holding Naruto snarled and dropped Naruto unceremoniously onto the ground when he thought they had walked far enough away from prying eyes. A snarl followed up the boot to the face that made him cry out and hold his bloody nose and mouth. Soon people began to stomp him and yell obscenities and other nonsense. Naruto could only try to roll up into a ball to cover up his face and stomach but they just stomped on his arms and kicked him in the back.

"Wh-wha - _cough_ - h-have I e-ever - _whimper _- done to y-you?" Naruto asked pitifully between blows. This only seemed to outrage them forward until one man who looked relatively sober stopped them so he could grab Naruto by the hair and stair into his eyes.

"What have you ever done?" he asked quietly, his eyes taking on a maniacal gleam. "How about attacking the village and killing thousands of people?! The Yondaime risked his life to kill you only for your soul to be put into this body! You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

Naruto's brain began to shut down as the man's last statement echoed in his mind. _He's wrong! I can't be . . . _Naruto then remembered his fox like whisker marks on his face and the black spiral tattoo on his stomach. He also remembered how his wounds always healed faster than most people, how the villagers always glared at him, and how they called him names. _Is that . . . why people don't like me?_

They cut Naruto's thoughts short as they slammed him roughly into the wall, the hold on his hair only tightening. His back arched off the wall and his mouth opened in a silent scream. "You killed my wife! My pregnant wife and my two-year-old daughter!" he cried, spittle flying from his mouth. Naruto winced at the volume of the man's voice and the pain. "I...n-never d-did anything." Naruto whispered so low that only the man in front of him could hear him. Apparently that was the wrong answer as the man screamed in rage and began to slam Naruto's skull against the alley wall repeatedly. Naruto's skull cracked and blood began to pour down his neck. However, the man did not stop and continued to slam his head in his rage clouded mind. Naruto lost consciousness. However, the man did not stop until he was sure he saw brain matter on the wall and let Naruto drop as he took a step back and looked at work.

Naruto lay there, blood oozing out the back of his head as his breath shallowed before finally stopping. He was sure that nothing even the Kyuubi could do that could save him now.

**xXx**

When Naruto awoke' total darkness surrounded him. He stood up and found that he was even _standing_ on darkness. _Am I dead . . . ? Is this hell . . . ?_

**"No, this is not hell, but you are dead,"** a soft voice said from behind him.

Naruto turned around and found a hazy figure staring at him. He could not make out any details but he guessed they were female by the voice that was calm and soothing.

"Wh-who are you . . . ?" Naruto asked checking the back of his head and noticed that he was wound free and that he was not in any pain. He also noticed he was wearing a black kimono and black hakama tied with a white obi.

**"My name is . . . " **they started but trailed off without saying their name.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't wanna," Naruto said quietly and lowered his head. It would not surprise him if they were just another person who hated the Kyuubi.

They let out a sigh. **"I guess you cannot hear my name, and you are not the Kyuubi. Still, they have sealed him inside you and his soul is forcibly merging with yours because you did not live long enough for it to happen naturally. Yet what happened, Naruto . . . have you lost your will to live?"**

Naruto just stared at the figure as if they were crazy and turned his head away from them. "What do I have to life for . . . ? Aren't I dead? Besides, the villagers hate me . . . " Naruto said his head hanging low and his shoulders slumped in a sign of defeat.

Naruto turned back to look at the figure when the air suddenly grew heavier and he had to try harder to breathe. Which was odd because he was dead, wasn't he? **"What do you have to live for?! Why don't you live for that old man, yourself," **they paused, and he guessed they turned away, as if he disgusted them,** "or me?"**

Naruto saw his darkened world begin to break away into boxes of red and floated upwards, leaving an inky white purgatory. Or so he thought, because the next thing he knew he began to fall downward, or was it upward?

The woman remained standing upside down on empty darkness that soon also faded to white. **"You are turning into a monster because you are losing yourself to darkness. The only way to save yourself is to find your will to live in one of these boxes. Choose wisely." **With that she disappeared in a swirl of green wind.

"W-wait!" Naruto cried as he fell, the wind rushing in his ears. He opened the first box only to find it empty and let out a sigh. He repeated this process a few more times before tears of frustration begin to form in his eyes. "I'm not gonna give up! I...I want to live!" Naruto then noticed a box to his left that seemed oddly familiar and hurriedly grabbed it. Inside the box was the hilt of a sword. The hilt was green and the guard was a silver four-point star. Naruto didn't know exactly what it was but he grabbed it with both hands and pulled with all his might.

**xXx**

A shinigami watched an old man carry a small blond boy's battered body away while his soul remained chained to the ground, writhing in what might be pain.

White particles of reiatsu formed and fitted over his face in a mask. He let out an unearthly scream as there was a spike in reiatsu that burst outward like a shockwave and made him take a step back. The reiatsu picked up a cloud of dirt that swirled around the boy like a twister and the shinigami watched in curiosity when it began to clear.

The boy stumbled out and fell to his hands and knees and began to breathe hard. He wore the basic shinigami garb and held a basic green katana hilt in his hand. On his face was a hallow mask of a white fox with blood red markings for whiskers on each cheek and the muzzle protruded off his face with the teeth bared in a demonic snarl. Naruto reached up with his shaking hand and pulled off the fox mask to reveal his face. He had violet eyes that glowed ominously and deep rugged claw like marks on his face that stretched from his nose down to his jaw. He had a mop full of spiky dark blond hair that had black and red streaks in it.

The shinigami let a smirk cross his face as he jumped down to land in front of the boy. The boy jumped to his feet quickly and took a couple steps backward and his violet eyes widened in fear.

The shinigami pulled off his glasses and ran a hand through his brown locks of hair. "I'm not going to hurt you. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Sosuke Aizen, what is yours?"

**xXx**

Naruto let out a shaky breath as he looked at what the shinigami wore. He had the same clothes that Naruto wore except he had a white haori with a diamond shape on the back. "Uzumaki Naruto," he said, his voice sounding a lot gruffer than he remembered. _I guess that means my soul merged with the Kyuubi's. So does that make me a hanyou now? I guess that kind of makes me a new person . . . _

He was interrupted from his musings when the glasses wearing shinigami spoke. "I'm a shinigami. How would you like to come with me Naruto-kun? I could train you to make you stronger, then you could defend yourself, and no one could hurt you again."

The charming smile the man flashed him didn't fool Naruto one bit. Something in his mind just _screamed_ not to trust the man, but he didn't exactly have anywhere else to go. He didn't really want to be ghost haunting Konoha or something. Besides, the prospect of never being defenseless again sparked something inside him. "Okay," he said slowly. He didn't know why this man would want to train him but he would be wary when around him.

Aizen smiled a disarming smile and put his glasses back on his face. "We're going to Soul Society, which is where good spirits go when they die. I will take us to Seireitei, which is a branch of Soul Society where you can train to be a shinigami like me."

The hanyou vizard nodded slowly. "How are we going to Soul Society?"

The bespectacled man chuckled and held out his hand where a red and orange butterfly floated lazily out of his grasp and into the sky before disappearing. A light running from ten feet off the ground ran down vertically and outlined a set of shogi doors. The doors flashed briefly before pulling apart slowly to reveal a room full of light. Naruto eyed the portal with the same amount of distrust as Aizen, but when the man began to walk forward, he had little choice but to follow.

The light engulfed him, and that was the last Uzumaki Naruto had ever seen of Konoha.

**xXx**


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own Bleach.

-knock knock-

-stops drawing chapter 310 of Bleach to answer door-

"What? I don't own Bleach...?! But I've been sending Kubotite my ideas for years! ..._They_ own Bleach?! When did this happen?! Grr...I _don't_ own Bleach.

-shakes fist at Kubotite-

-puts away Bleach chapter 310 which consists of stick figures-

A/N: Yay, it's xBrokenSin here again and I want to thank everyone who checked out this story and what not!

I've actually had this chapter finished for a while but I was like, "No, I must wait till Friday!". Then I just decided, screw it! I was to excited so I decided to update.

Though I updated in four days, the next update won't be for a week.

Okay, some things in one of my reviews "they" raised up the point of me not using "they" to meen two people. Well "they" can also be used to refer to a single person whose gender you don't know. Therefore, I win!

Now for the serious stuff, in this chapter I really wanted to dig into Naruto's character, but I think I dug too deep, if that makes any sense. Also, in this chapter Naruto may seem too mature for his age, but let me remind you. A 1,000 year old soul has just fused with his, so I think hes entitled to a little maturity.

One more thing, This story takes place 80 years before the Bleach storyline so there will be alot of time skips. None in this chapter, but in the next one, there will be a 20 year time skip!

Read and review pl0x!

**xXx**

Chapter 1:

Hold on and Never Let Go

**xXx**

The sun shined brightly overhead, even though when he died it had been night time. Men and women alike walked down the dirt road, chatting among themselves or browsing the many shops that paved the road.

The people, he noticed with interest, were wearing different colored yukata instead of the more modern clothes he was used to when he was alive. He pondered this for a moment. How could people who have been living longer than most humans, be living in the more primitive times?

His sandaled feet made not a noise as he and his escort walked down the street. When people caught sight of them, they immediately stepped out of the way and bowed. His bespectacled guide chuckled in amusement.

"This is Rukongai, the largest part of Soul Society where all the normal souls live. We're heading to Seireitei, where the shinigami live, but I just wanted to check on someone before we head there."

Naruto nodded mutely, wondering exactly why everyone peeked out of their wooden huts just to get a look at them.

Up ahead a girl wearing a pink yukata sitting on a porch squealed. Her brown hair was tied up into a bun and she flashed one of the largest smiles Naruto had ever seen. "Aizen-sama!" She put down the watermelon she was eating beside a small white haired boy and ran over to them. She bowed and when she looked up she blushed prettily. Naruto guessed she was a couple years older than him.

"Aizen-sama! It's been so long since I've seen you," she smiled and turned her head away to look at Naruto. "Oh, aren't you just cute! Have you come to live in Rukongai?" she paused and eyed his clothes and titled her head slightly. "But . . . you're wearing shinigami garb . . ."

Aizen placed a hand on the young girl's head, effectively cutting off her voiced musings. She looked up and blushed slightly when she met the older shinigami's eyes. "Hinamori-chan, this young boy here is Naruto. And no, he isn't going to be living in Rukongai. Quite the contrary, he will be living in Seireitei."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion. He didn't understand exactly what was going on, but apparently it was surprising for someone as young as him to become shinigami. Another eyebrow rose. He wondered if the only way to be a shinigami was to die and be 'reborn' one.

Hinamori turned to him and bowed slightly. "Hello," she beamed. "My name is Hinamori Momo! You're so lucky!" she gushed. "I won't be able to go to the academy for a couple more years, but when I graduate, I want to be in Aizen-sama's division! Then I'll grow up to be his fukutaichou!"

The hanyou shinigami had no idea what exactly the hyperactive girl was talking about, so he just nodded politely. He wondered if she had been eating too many watermelons. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto," he said, somewhat shyly. She was being very bubbly and outgoing and he wasn't used to someone talking to him so nicely. When he was alive, whenever he had the chance to talk to someone and maybe become their friend, an adult would drag them away and tell them not to play with him. It had always hurt when they did so and he wondered if people here would be the same way if they knew some of his dark secrets.

She shocked him when she ran over and grabbed him in a big hug and squealed in his rather sensitive ears. "You're just so cute! You remind me so much of Shiro-chan when we first met!"

Naruto raised a helpless eyebrow to Aizen who was watching with amusement.

Naruto patted her back somewhat awkwardly. "Thanks?"

She began to ramble on enthusiastically about everything and nothing while not releasing him from her death grip.

Aizen coughed and Hinamori sprang back as if she had been burned and Naruto found himself somewhat missing the warmth even though the sun was shining brightly. The bespectacled shinigami ruffled her brown hair again and she pouted cutely. "We have to leave now Hinamori, but we'll see you later, okay?"

The girl groaned in displeasure but she nodded and stepped aside. The hanyou vizard turned his head to stare at the white-haired boy who looked at him as he ate his watermelon. He glared at Naruto with icy blue eyes and Naruto turned away quickly. "Bye Aizen-sama, bye Naruto-kun! Come back and visit sometime Naruto-kun, then I can introduce you to Shiro-kun!"

The young shinigami smiled at her bashfully before turning his attention back to the road ahead and began walking with Aizen. She sure was bright and bubbly. He thought back on their conversation and realized that he had absolutely no idea what he was getting himself involved in. And if there was one thing Naruto didn't like, it was the unknown.

"Aizen-san," he began quietly. He didn't know if he should be formal or informal with him, but relaxed slightly when he raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "How come not everyone who dies becomes a shinigami?"

Aizen seemed to ponder the question for a second before he spoke. "Well, first of all, not everyone has enough reiatsu, which is spiritual energy, to become shinigami. But for you, I guess you're a special case. You were transforming into a hollow, and the only way to stop the transformation was to become a shinigami, and that was what you did. There are people in Rukongai that can become shinigami of course, but they have to go to an academy for six years before it's official."

Naruto nodded. He guessed that made sense, even though all he knew about hollows were that they were monsters. "What does a shinigami do?"

Aizen smiled softly and placed a hand on Naruto's head. The young shinigami found that the touch felt weird. But weird in a good while. When Hinamori had hugged him, it had warmed his body in a special kind of way, but with Aizen, it seemed to warm something in his heart. The young shinigami wondered if that was how a son felt around his father. "A shinigami is like a ninja of your old world. Although our main purpose is to fight hollows, we also have to help spirits pass over to the afterlife. Kind of like what I did with you."

The vizard found he couldn't help the smile that rose on his face. He had always wanted to be a ninja, that way he could protect everyone in the village and show them how worthy he was of their admiration and respect. Although he couldn't live that exact dream, he could still try his best to protect Soul Society. Although he didn't have anyone important to him yet, he guessed he could say that his first friend would be Hinamori and Aizen somewhat.

As they walked toward the gate of Seireitei, Naruto pondered other questions that had been on his mind. Even though he was already a shinigami, would he have to go to the academy? Another question he had was about the divisions that Hinamori had talked about.

"Do I have to go to the academy to become a shinigami?" he asked. When he went to the ninja academy; nobody took him seriously. All the teachers would ask him questions that he couldn't answer and would sabotage his test's making him the dead last of the class. The student's would pick on him, causing him to skip certain classes or play pranks on the teachers who got under his skin. He didn't want to have to go to another academy. And if he did, he hoped that the teachers would at least be fair. He knew from what Hinamori said that the students probably would make fun of him because he was younger than most students who went.

"No," he said simply and Naruto raised an eyebrow and frowned. Aizen glanced at him and noticed the frown on his ward's face so he continued. "I will personally train you. You will be my apprentice."

This time, both of Naruto's eyebrows rose, his eyes widened, and his mouth hung open. He remembered Hinamori saying something about being his fukutaichou and guessed that would make him a taichou. So would that mean he was a captain of a division? If so, that would mean he was pretty powerful.

"How many division's are there?" Naruto asked after he got over his shock.

Aizen looked amused. "There are thirteen, each led by the strongest and smartest member of the division who is the captain. I am the taichou of the fifth division."

Naruto was impressed. All his life he had dreamed of being the hokage of his village that way he could earn everyone's respect. The bespectacled man was basically a miniature version of a hokage in his eyes, and he guessed he was worthy of the respect and admiration he received. The small shinigami found himself having a new dream. To become a powerful shinigami, and maybe one day a taichou.

**xXx**

When the giant gate separating Rukongai from Seireitei came into view, Naruto was in awe. The wall was at least forty feet high and it was as wide as he could see. It looked to be made of a stone of some sort and Naruto wondered how someone could possibly open something so big. It had to weigh a ton!

A massive figure dropped out of the sky and for a second, Naruto was afraid a meteor was falling. The figure landed with on the ground with a boom that threw up a large cloud of dust that was instantly knocked away by the winds created from the giant landing. When the dust cleared, a _man_ at least ten times the normal size stood there in oddly tight shinigami clothes and a red hat on his head.

Naruto instantly took a couple steps behind a calm Aizen. "Jidanbou! Open the gate for me and my young ward!" he called up to the large shinigami.

The giant chuckled as he grabbed the edge of the gate. "Visiting Hinamori-chan?" he asked then grunted as he begin to lift the gate off the ground. The gate began to rumble slightly as it lifted a couple inches off the ground, dust falling from the gate as if it had not been used in years.

The young shinigami just stood there in shock as the _monster_ of a man lifted the gate over his head and held it for them with a cry fit for a sumo wrestler. Inside, Naruto could see white stone building's with black roof tops and the occasional shinigami walking around.

Aizen began to walk forward and raised a lazy hand to the giant and smiled. "Yeah, I wanted her to meet my new apprentice. By the way, this is Naruto. Naruto, meet Jidanbou."

Jidanbou, who was still holding the gate, nodded his head toward Naruto and smiled. The blond did the same before scuttling after his new sensei who had began to walk away. After they passed through the gate, Naruto had to force himself from gasping and turning around as it closed behind them with a bang.

**xXx**

As Naruto and Aizen walked through the door of a large white building, Naruto reflected back on the walk he had with Aizen. As they had walked down the streets of Seireitei, Naruto thought that they gave him the same respect of a hokage. Bowing their heads as he walked by as if it were a great honor that he would bestow them with his presence. Having so much respect directed his direction, Naruto couldn't help but puff out his chest and stand up a little straighter. It felt good to not be considered dirt.

Inside the large building, shinigami's of all shapes and genders wandered around with folders and stacks of papers that they delivered to various rooms. Naruto wasn't sure where they were exactly, but he guessed that they were at the central office of sorts.

They kept walking, not even bothering to stop and talk to a secretary as they walked by and headed into a room with an old man sitting behind a desk. The old man had a bald head with a cross scar on it, long, white eyebrows and mustache, and a beard that disappeared behind his desk. He wore the usual shinigami garbs, but his were at least two sizes too big and he wore a large white haori draped over his back like a cape.

His eyes, which were closed, turned toward them, and Naruto immediately got the impression that this man was very important. He stood up a little straighter and puffed his chest out slightly. He didn't know why, but he felt he needed to prove something to this man.

Aizen spoke first. "Yamamoto-toutaichou," he said respectfully, and bowed. Naruto followed suit and bowed also. Anyone who was powerful enough to demand respect from captains definitely had his respect.

The old man chuckled gruffly. "Aizen-taichou," he said and nodded toward him. He looked at Naruto. "And who's this young fellow?" The old man asked, regarding Naruto with a bushy eyebrow.

Aizen placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "This is the boy I've been speaking to you about." His tone had a hint of pride and though Naruto didn't know exactly what he had done, it made him feel good to have someone talk about him like that.

The old shinigami opened his eyes and Naruto almost gasped from the intensity of the glance that was sent his way. As soon as it began, the man closed his eyes and Naruto felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of him. The old make spoke.

"What is your name, son?"

Naruto started slighty. "Uzumaki Naruto, sir."

The old shinigami chuckled as if Naruto had some something funny. "Well my name is Yamamoto-Genryuusai." He turned to Aizen. "Yes, I sense great power coming from him. With training he will grow to be very strong."

Naruto felt a sense of pride began to bubble in his chest. He had not recieved many compliments in his lifetime, and when he did, he took them to heart.

Aizen nodded. "I think so too, and that as why I want to make him my apprentice, if you will let him of course."

Yamamoto seemed to think for a moment before he nodded. "Yes, I think that would be a good idea. How long will you train him for?"

Aizen turned toward Naruto and regarded him with serious brown eyes. "Hmm . . . twenty years should do well. And then he can become a normal shinigami, free to choose whichever division he wants."

The old man nodded. "Fair enough. Until then he will take up residence at the fifth division. Is that all?"

Aizen nodded. "Yes,"

With another bow that Naruto quickly copied they turned to take their leave. Turning to look at his sensei Naruto was somewhat surprised to find a pleased smirk gracing his usually gentle features.

Naruto raised a curious eyebrow but decided not to question the unusual change in behavior. He pondered the old man, who reminded him of the hokage of Konoha. "Aizen-sensei," he paused and gauged the man on his reaction to the title and was relieved when he didn't seem displeased. "Can you tell me more about . . . Yamato-genyuusai?"

Aizen chuckled. "Yamamoto-Genryuusai," he corrected a slightly flustered Naruto. "Yamamoto-toutaichou is actually one of the oldest and most powerful shinigami in Seireitei. He's two-thousand years old and was the one that started the shinigami academy."

Naruto listened with rapt attention as Aizen went on to explain some of Yamamoto's accomplishments and the young shinigami began to see the old man in a new light.

**xXx**

When they arrived at the fifth division, Naruto was somewhat surprised at the warm welcome they received. Naruto was sure that Aizen was a well-liked shinigami, but he wasn't sure how much until that moment. As they walked down the halls of the fifth division, Aizen received many bows, smiles, and warm greetings. Although they regarded the child shinigami curiously, they offered him a warm smile which Naruto returned somewhat timidly.

As they rounded a corner and stood outside a door Aizen turned to face a somewhat startled Naruto from the abrupt stop. "Naruto, I want you to meet my fukutaichou." Naruto nodded and Aizen smiled reassuringly before turning and opening the door.

Inside, the room was pretty plain. It was bare of much of anything except a desk and a window which a man with silver hair looked outside of. The bespectacled shinigami cleared his throat before he spoke. "Naruto, I want you to meet my fukutaichou, Ichimaru Gin."

When Ichimaru turned around Naruto tried to flash a smile but it froze as soon as he saw the man's face. His face was somewhat sharp and his eyes slitted, but what froze Naruto was the wide smile that stretched the man's face. It was just plain creepy. "Hello, Naruto-kun."

Naruto shuddered. He didn't know why, but he felt like he should run; run away and hide. Although his voice was pleasant and smooth it reminded Naruto of the sound of a rattlesnake made when someone came to close. It sounded innocent enough, but it had an underlying meaning. Naruto didn't know what the meaning was he got from Ichimaru, but it was enough to make his hair stand on end.

Naruto could only scoot closer to an amused Aizen and nod in greeting. It felt as if just looking at those slanted eyes was enough to choke the life out of him. The blond shinigami definitely didn't want to be around if he decided he wanted to open his eyes and glare at him. He was sure he'd piss his pants.

Under normal circumstances, Naruto would have considered the man somewhat handsome, but it was canceled out by the . . . evilness that surrounded him.

"Naruto, can you wait outside please?"

The young shinigami nodded and hurridly left, relieved for any reason to get out of the pressence of the man who reminded him of slithering snakes.

**xXx**

"So, how is the plan going so far?"

"Perfectly. It's supprisingly easy. Almost to the point of boredom."

"Oh?"

"Yes, he's pratically putty in my hands."

"Heh, that's good. But I was hoping he could have been a little more challenging so we could have fun . . . _breaking_ him."

"Oh, don't worry. When we're finished with him, he will be nothing more than a broken puppet with his strings cut off."

"I can't wait . . . "

**xXx**

When the two shinigami had finished there discussion they led Naruto through the division compound and into a couryard.

By now, the sun was setting and the sky was alive with colors. Pinks, blues, and oranges painted the sky overhead while on the ground, the grass was a lush green and cherry blossoms were spaced around the edge like a border.

Ichimaru stood next to a reluctant Naruto and they boy began to wonder if he should have paid more attention to the conversation as shinigami began to come outside and line up horizontally. One shinigami stood out in particular to him. He was a dark-skinned man with purple locks that hung down his back tied in a ponytail. He wore his shinigami kimono, which was tied with a purple obi, with his sleeves rolled up. Fingerless gloves were on his hands and he wore a pair of boots. Covering his eyes was a clear visor.

Ichimaru put a hand on his shoulder and smiled what he apparently thought was reassuringly, but to Naruto, it was rather creepy. "That guy with the clear visor is the third seat, Kaname Tousen. It's a level under fukutaichou." Ichimaru leaned down, his breath ghosting over Naruto's ear. "He's blind, so watch what you say, neh?" he whispered in a playful tone.

Naruto shivered involuntarily at being in such proximity with the fukutaichou.

Tousen nodded toward him, which surprised Naruto because he was supposedly blind. The blond hesitated briefly before nodding back.

Aizen quickly called everyone to attention and Naruto was glad when Ichimaru backed away to stand next to his taichou. "Everyone, listen up. This boy here is Uzumaki Naruto, the youngest to become a shinigami ever, and he will be my new apprentice."

Naruto was quite surprised by this piece of information. He knew he was young compared to most shinigami who all appeared to be in their late teens at least. He had no clue that he was the youngest to become a shinigami _ever_.

Murmurs broke out in the crowd and Aizen let them talk amongst themselves until they quieted. "He will be staying in this division for a couple of years as he trains, so treat him with the same respect you would treat me."

There was a chorus of "Hai, Aizen-taichou" before Aizen dismissed them. The crowd began to thin, the shinigami talking excitedly amongst themselves as they left. Naruto wondered briefly if all of Soul Society would know that the youngest shinigami was an apprentice to a taichou by tomorrow. After everyone left except for Tousen, the three began to talk amongst themselves, leaving Naruto to feel like he was the kid who sat quietly while his parents entertained guests. After a while they broke apart and Aizen and Tousen walked over to him. The taichou spoke, "Naruto, this is my third seat, Kaname Tousen."

Tousen smiled at him and patted his head affectionately. "I like you. You have very little darkness in your spirit."

Naruto didn't exactly know how to respond to that so he did the next best thing. He flushed slightly and mumbled a thanks while Aizen chuckled. "Tousen will show you to your room and tomorrow we'll begin training after a tour of the division."

Naruto nodded at Aizen who retreated to Ichimaru before turning to Tousen. The young shinigami didn't exactly want to offend the blind shinigami, but he wondered how he would be able to lead him to his room if he was blind. As if sensing his thoughts, said shinigami chuckled. "Don't worry. Though I can't use my eyes to see, I can use my other senses to find my way just find."

**xXx**

Although Naruto was rather dubious at first, Tousen proved that he was indeed capable of navigating through the division without the aid of his eyes. After making it to his room without anyone bumping into anything, he left, heading to who knows where.

Naruto surveyed his quarters with a critical eye.

It was rather small. It only had four rooms: a living area, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a bedroom. Although it wasn't the life of luxuries, Naruto definitely couldn't complain. He was used to sleeping on an itchy mattress with bedsprings poking into his sides either uncomfortably or just the cold hard floor with nothing over his head but a box. From where he used to live, Naruto felt as if he moved into a mansion.

After removing his black kimono and hakama, Naruto was rather pleased to see that he wore clothes underneath. After taking off his white kosode he was left in nothing but his boxers.

He was about to fold his clothes when he noticed the scabbard hanging off his black kimono. He picked it up and was rather surprised to see that it had a sword hilt in it. Naruto had noticed that all the other shinigami had one and was wondering what had happened to his. Naruto pulled out the sword and was rather disappointed when it was revealed to be nothing but the guard and the broken remains of the sword.

He folded his clothes into neat squares and placed his scabbard and broken sword on top before taking care of his bodily functions and going to bed.

As Naruto lay in his surprisingly comfortable futon, he reflected on the rather active day he had.

Without all the events keeping him busy, the weight of everything slammed onto him and he literally had his breath taken away. It was, after all, a lot to take in all at once. First he learned he had the Kyuubi sealed inside him, then he died, then he learnt that he's a shinigami, and after everything he already had on his plate, he arrived in Soul Society and met a lot of new people. To put it simply, he was exhausted.

Having his soul fused with the Kyuubi, Naruto supposed he deserved the right to be a little shocked afterwards. It was like finding out your worst enemy was going to be connected to you in the worst way possible while you could do nothing to stop it. Even though Naruto hated the Kyuubi, would saying it now be like saying he hated himself? Naruto guessed that was how the villagers felt. That just because he was the only connection to the Kyuubi that by hurting him, they could somehow hurt the Kyuubi as well. Though Naruto could understand this, he still held a bit of hatred toward the citizens who made his life hell.

Back at Konoha, the kitsune-hanyou bet the villagers were going to make his death a national holiday. But not the type of holiday where they honor the good things you did in life, but the kind where they thank the heavens themselves that a great problem had been lifted from him.

The only thing Naruto would miss from Konoha was the old man at the ramen stop and the old hokage. Although Naruto felt a pang of guild and sadness at the thought; to be truthful, Naruto felt sort of happy that he died, for it allowed him to start a new life without the constant hatred.

Naruto remembered how he would shout to the rooftops his dreams and when he looked back on it, he felt a little foolish. Back then, when all he received was hate, he did anything he could in his power so they would look at him, and not the Kyuubi. Now that he was getting more attention, he felt that if he were to go screaming on rooftops he would appear foolish, and that was the last thing he wanted when he had a developing image.

He thought back to the one person who seemed to have made it possible.

Aizen Sousuke.

He was rather enigmatic to Naruto. When Naruto first met him, his instincts had been on guard, but afterwards they had calmed and he had felt a small bond form with the shinigami. He had done a lot for him and Naruto couldn't help but feel grateful.

Another person who stuck out to him was Ichimaru Gin. He was another case entirely. When he had firs met the man, his first instinct was to run screaming bloody murder. He wondered how someone like Aizen could stand to be around someone like Ichimaru. Naruto guessed if he spent enough time around him, then he would probably get used to the feeling of being crawled on by insects when he was around. Except the aura he gave off, he wasn't a bad man.

Naruto's eyes began to close on there own accord as his mind began to shut down for sleep, one last thought was acknowledged before he gave himself to the blissful darkness.

_I've finally found someplace where I belong . . ._

**xXx**

If he only knew what was being said in the darkended rooms of a certain taichou's office . . .

**xXx**


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

A/N: OKAY, OKAY! I'm such a big fat liar. I know I said I wouldn't update in a week, and hear I am, three days later! Jeebus, I can't help myself. I just get so excited that I have to update. Its a compulsive disorder.

Okay, about Naruto's character. Right now he is mature but still likes to act his age. But later Naruto will be dark (but not angsty/broody) but the kick ass kinda dark. And he will be a good guy. This is not a evil!Naruto fic.

Another thing I want to do is talk about this chapter. It takes place twenty years after chapter one and it's full of flashbacks because summary's can only explain so much. Most of this is just Naruto's training and more Bleach characters introduced. Right now I'm just setting the stage, and the next chapter will reveal the first plot twist. YAAAAY PLOT TWISTS!

One more thing before I get on with this story. The ending to this chapter was TOTALLY rushed. I was so lazy I was just like, MEH! I just wanted to get this chapter out of the way so I can get closer to the Karakura Arc! (which wont be for another 3-4 chapters unfortunately)

Now, on with the story and READ AND REVIEW PL0XXXXXX!

**xXx**

Chapter 2:

Cementing the Foundations

**xXx**

_Twenty years later . . . _

**xXx**

Violet eyes opened slowly and the owner gave a jaw cracking yawn. They laid there, not yet fully awake, but just savoring the feeling of waking up from a good night's rest. Clawed hands rose and wiped their tired eyes before the owner got out of bed slowly.

They were clad in only a pair of boxers as they made their way to the bathroom to take care of personal business. After a shower, they peered at themselves in the mirror. Three deep whisker like marks stood out on their slightly tanned skin and blond locks fell into their eyes.

A lot had happened in the twenty years since one Uzumaki Naruto arrived in Soul Society.

After his first day at the fourth division compound, Naruto had received a tour and he was surprised by the amount of respect he received from simply being the apprentice to the highly esteemed bespectacled taichou.

However, it wasn't all just respect that he received. Sometimes someone would try to mock for his young age or make up ridiculous rumors of how he tricked the taichou into accepting him as his apprentice. The violet-eyed shinigami knew the real reason for all those things and he didn't know if he should feel honored or offended.

They were just jealous.

The ten-year-old face of Uzumaki Naruto stared back at himself in the slightly fogged mirror. He gave a saucy wink to his reflection before going back to his room to get dressed.

But who wouldn't be envious of someone as sexy as he?

'_And you call me vain?'_ a decidedly feminine voice mocked in his head and Naruto chuckled lightly. He tapped the sheathed sword resting on his shinigami clothing and glared in mock anger. "Don't hate me cause I'm beautiful."

To any normal person who may have been watching such a scene would have thought the young Uzumaki crazy. Yet, for a shinigami, it was quite common to bond with one's sword through communicating.

The adolescent remembered like it was just yesterday when he was able to call on the spirit of his zanpakutou, when in fact it was at least fifteen years ago.

**xXx**

_Naruto sat on the soft yoga mat, his legged cross and his hands_ _on his knees. He drew in a deep breath and the smell of the cinnamon incense burning merrily in the room filled his nostrils and helped to calm him. He had been learning to meditate for weeks now and it had definitely enlightened him on a little thing called patience. _

_When he had first started, he could barely go two minutes without beginning to move restlessly. His sensei at the time, Tousen, must have had the patience of a saint fore he never seemed to lose his head and would take as long as it took for Naruto to learn._

_The young shinigami cleared his head of all thoughts and concentrated on his breathing. That was the first step in trying to reach his inner world. The next step was for him to search inside himself for something familiar. He didn't know exactly what he was supposed to search himself for, yet his mind seemed to know what to do subconsciously._

_The world around him seemed to become shrouded in a different kind of darkness before it began to melt into a new scene._

_Naruto gaped at the view that awaited him in his newly reached world._

_Reds, brows, greys, and other neutral colors seemed to blend in the rocky expanse. He stood atop a tall mountain overlooking the rest of the area below him. Rich green grass stood at the base of the mountain and a small pond sparkled cheerfully. _

_Enchanted by the amazing view provided by him, he wouldn't have been able to take a step away from his dangerous perch on the ledge of the cliff even if he had wanted to._

_A feminine chuckle from behind the blond caused him to turn around and almost fall off the rock edge in shock. Behind him stood one of the most beautiful females he had ever seen. She had a heart-shaped face with a head of luscious green hair that fell down her back in silky curls. A pair of sparkling green eyes regarded him with amusement and her painted green full lips were curled into a smile._

_What really drew Naruto's attention, however, was her clothing that could be described in one word:_

_Scandalous._

_For all the clothes she wore she might as well have been nude. She wore a lime-green bra that seemed to match her forest-colored theme that was adorned around the edges with brown feathers revealing a surprising amount of cleavage. Around her legs she wore a green skirt that wrapped around her waist and flared down her waist like a dress. On her feet were a pair of brown boots that disappeared into her skirt._

_The young shinigami promptly blushed and looked away from the scantily clad woman. _

_He tried to recall everything he had learned about zanpakutou spirits. When he had been studying with Aizen, he had taken him to the shinigami library where they had information on all things shinigami. He had been allowed to check out a book on zanpakutou spirits detailing the basic rules of the spirits and how to go about receiving their help._

_He remembered the book stressing the point that the sword spirits were sentient beings. Going by that information, decided to treat his with respect and hopefully gain their trust. "Hey, you're my zanpakutou spirit, right?" _

_Naruto winced lightly, that sounded a lot worse than it was meant._

_The blond shinigami released an inaudible sigh of relief when she giggled lightly. "Yes I am. And you don't have to be so shy! Look over here, will ya?" _

_Naruto, who was still blushing and feeling rather self conscious for both of them, looked at her face and not any lower. No matter how much he wanted to. "So what brings you to my domain?" she asked in a mock serious tone and Naruto wasn't sure how to respond._

_Amusement danced in her eyes although she wore a serious expression. The blond decided to play along. "This lowly servant requests your assistance." _

_She giggled again and Naruto felt himself relax. It was like meeting your best friend after a long period of time. It was awkward at first, but when that barrier was broken, it was just like old times. "What does thy lowly self request of me?"_

_Naruto rolled his eyes and tried to stifle a laugh. He decided to try to use his best Aizen voice but was failing miserably. "This lowly being requests help with fixing his sword," he thought about what he read in the book, "and maybe to learn thine name?"_

"_I do believe I could be of assistance in fixing your sword." Naruto smiled happily but frowned when she began to speak normal serious voice. "However, you're still not ready to know my name just yet. Don't worry, you will be ready very soon."_

_Before the young shinigami even had a chance to voice his protest, he was flung from his spirit world forcibly. The feeling of being pushed from one reality to another had his eyes snapping open and a gasp escaping his throat. _

_The blind man seated in front of him raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "You were silent for quite a while there. I almost thought you left the room." he teased but soon became serious again. "I'm guessing you were able to meet your zanpakutou spirit and talk about fixing your zanpakutou?"_

_Naruto nodded even though he knew the blind man couldn't see it. "Yes, I was able to talk to her and she said she would be able to repair my sword." He frowned then. "But she did say I wasn't ready to learn her name."_

_Before he could begin to dwell on the matter too much Tousen quickly suggested he take a look at his zanpakutou._

_Naruto grabbed the sheathed zanpakutou and slowly took hold of the hilt in a show of dramatics. With a weary tug the sword began to come out of the sheath inch by inch. Instead of stopping at the broken portion like he had at first thought, the blade glowed white as more of the sword's blade became visible before it was finally removed completely. The now sword equipped shinigami marveled at the reiatsu-forged blade._

_He gave it a few experimental swipes and couldn't help but smile._

_It was made just for him._

**xXx**

Naruto had just finished dressing in his shinigami garband was shrugging his sheathed sword across his back when he chanced a looked outside his window.

The sun was rising over the tall white buildings of Soul Society and it blanketed the area with a golden ethereal glow.

The beauty was lost on the blond shinigami.

Naruto bit back a curse as he grabbed an apple from the kitchen to eat. He rushed out of his room, through the compound of the fourth division, and into the streets of Seireitei. He dodged around shinigami doing various activities in the area such as patrolling, delivery, or just plain cleaning.

It was part of the training unseated officers of the Gotei Thirteen did to build a sense of responsibility before they were seated.

Naruto remembered when he had first began his training.

He was as nervous as he was excited when he had stepped into the clearing and to begin his first day of training to become a respected shinigami.

Believe it or not, though the dead technically didn't have real bodies, shinigami still needed to train as if they did have one. When he first began, Aizen suggested they condition his body before moving onto the more shinigami related training. Since he had so much stamina already, the first thing they trained was in endurance. He would run, swim, do pushups, sit-ups, and other various exercises until his body ached. The first couple of months were grueling, but after a while he got into a routine that worked well for him.

Before he even picked up a wooden sword, the first thing he learned was hand to hand combat. Being that he was a ninja in training when he died, he only knew the basics of a street fighting style he had developed since nobody would seriously teach him anything.

With the training he was doing with his body, and the training he was doing with hand to hand combat, the next thing the blond had expected to train in had been sword fighting.

He was wrong.

After developing a strong body, Aizen had stressed the importance of also having a strong mind. At first, Naruto was rather unenthusiastic about learning anything that had to do with books, but after a while, Naruto realized the importance of having a strong mind. The young shinigami found he was rather proficient in strategy so that was his strongest subject. Although he liked to run into things head first, Aizen quickly beat that habit out of him.

After working on the mind and body, it was of course the spirit that he trained next. And by spirit, it meant his reiatsu. As it turned out, his reiatsu control was as good as his chakra control. Which was not very good at all in his opinion.

At first he was constantly overpowering the simplest of spells to the point where they would literally backfire on him. However, when they didn't backfire, he could use a basic spell up to three times its normal power without even an incantation.

When he first began, Naruto didn't understand the importance of saying a spell's incantation. As Aizen proved himself adept at doing, he used a metaphor a ninja would understand.

**xXx**

"_Aizen-sensei . . . !"_ _Naruto wined._

"_Yes, Naruto-kun?"_

"_How come I have to say the incantation every time? You don't! I mean come on, they're so long it would take forever to say them."_

_Aizen raised an eyebrow. "Although the incantations can be rather long, they are a very important part of kido."_

_The blond looked rather skeptical so the older shinigami continued. "Like a ninja, they use hand seals to create jutsu's right?"_

_At seeing Naruto's nod of admission_ _Aizen began to speak. "Well like hand seals, each one has a special purpose of focusing the charka to do what you want it to. Well, incantation's are like hand seals. Each word has a special purpose that it focuses your reiatsu in a special way before the spell is unleashed."_

_Naruto nodded. That made sense._

"_The reason I can do spells without incantation is the same as ninja's also. When they use a jutsu enough, they become so skilled at it that they can mold their chakra without the use of hand seals. Well, I can mold my reiatsu without the use of an incantation, this allowing me to perform the spell."_

**xXx**

Although he was adept at powerful hadou spells with or without an incantation, his bakudou were so overcharged that the target could easily break out of the haphazardly cast spell.

The simplest reiatsu exorcizes that he performed included forming a sphere of reiatsu on his palm and using his reiatsu to exude pressure on certain objects. Although it may not sound hard in theory, when you have horrible control, it can be a strain to keep the reiatsu flowing at a constant level for a long period of time. After a while he was able to use enough control to move onto harder control exorcizes such as using reiatsu in his feet to walk on air.

And finally, after being trained in everything except what you expect a shinigami to be a master in, he was ready to begin his training with a sword. When he first began, Naruto treated a sword as something he just waved around wildy. But his sensei taught him that sword fighting was more of an art to a true master. Every dual with one of his sensei's he would always lose in the most embarrassing fashion to drive it home that he had no poise when it came to fighting.

After a particularly frightening display from Aizen that he was far too embarrassed to reflect on, he decided it would be in his best interest to take his sword training a lot more seriously. Every day after his workout he would work on his stances until he could flow through them like water. It was amazing really, how only a foot out of place could be the result of life or death.

When he almost ran into a wandering shinigami while he was lost in his thoughts, the blond decided it was time to take it to the roof tops to avoid innocent bystanders.

The trained shinigami closed his eyes and dug inside himself for his source of power. His eyes snapped open when he brushed against the spiritual energy lying dormant inside him. It warmed him from the inside, wild and powerful with its large quantity. He pulled the reiatsu into his feet and with a single crouched leap he flew through the air and onto the roof of a nearby building.

A grin of exhilaration stretched his lips and he whooped in joy as the feeling of souring through the air. He didn't know why, but the feeling of flying through the air was one of the most pleasurable experiences he ever indulged in.

Naruto jumped from building to building effortlessly, all thanks to his training on using the art shunpo. Although he definitely wasn't a master, he could still leap large distances in a ridiculously short amount of time. He had definitely improved a lot from when he first began to learn the flash step.

**xXx**

_His breath came in short pants and his lungs felt as if they were on fire._

_Violet eyes stared into the sky blankly as their owner's exhausted body lay on its back._

"_Maybe we should stop for the day . . . "_

"_No!"_

_Gritting his teeth in determination, the beaten and battered boy struggled to move his rapidly cramping muscles. _

_The Uzumaki stood shakily to his feet, stumbling slightly before gaining his center of balance. His shoulders were slumped and his arms hung loosely at his sides as he tried to regulate his breathing. Just standing up had taken nearly all of his energy and he felt as if he was running on fumes and determination._

_His legs ached and screamed an objection to any movement but he was determined to get this right._

_He had been training his body for months to be able to take the abuse of using shunpo. Shunpo was a decidedly basic shinigami ability thought it did vary in degrees of mastery. It was a high speed skill that allowed the user to take multiple steps in a small amount of time. The only drawback was the abuse the body took from moving so fast and the amount of control it took to maintain such high speeds. _

_The young shinigami definitely had the basics of the skill figured out. He could put the energy into his legs, he could use the energy to boost himself large distances, but what he couldn't do was control himself. Whenever he moved into shunpo, he would try to maintain the high speeds but he would trip over his own feet and get rather bad skid burns from sliding across the ground when he fell._

_The young shinigami didn't know how his sensei, Aizen, could move so effortlessly. He would change directions in mid shunpo and bounce off the walls and air like a rampaging ping-pong ball._

_Closing his eyes, he reached inside himself for his familiar supply of power. He had been training for hours and he only had a fraction of the large reserves he once housed. Naruto knew without a doubt that he was bordering on reiatsu and physical exhaustion._

"_Naruto, I think that should be enough today . . . You shouldn't push yourself too hard."_

_Aforementioned shinigami shook his head slightly and grabbed the last stores of his _

_reiatsu. "No, I know I can do this!"_

_Brown eyes widened in surprise before they closed in a pleased grin._

_Naruto eyed the shunpo obstacle course that had been setup before him. It was basically just a field filled with various items that he had to navigate around while in shunpo without losing speed or crashing (or falling) into anything._

_With a deep inhale of breath the shinigami crouched law. Shooting a determined glare at the obstacle course he launched himself of the ground like a rocket_

_The first obstacle in his way was a rather wide tree with deep impressions of his person in them. He was going far to fast to simply stop so he pivoted on his heel and twisted around the tree with graceful ease. He dodged and wove around the objects until it became time to come to a perfect stop. _

_Naruto released the reiatsu from its confines in his legs and tried to replace the missing reiatsu with new energy to stick himself to the ground. As soon as his foot touch down he skidded for a couple feet before stopping completely. Although it wasn't a perfect stop, it was definitely his best yet._

_Even though he was tired, hungry, and felt like he was going to keel over, a large grin began to make its way across Naruto's face. Pleased laughter began to bubble in his chest and before he could even gather the air in his lungs his laughter rung out over the clearing. He laughed till his lungs screamed in protest and his laugh was nothing more than a dry cough._

_And when he fainted, a smile of accomplishment stilled graced his face._

**xXx**

Some even speculated that his spiritual power is even greater than Zaraki Kenpachi, the recently appointed taichou of the eleventh division, who is said to have some of the largest reiatsu in Soul Society.

Within minutes the blond touched down outside of the main building of Seireitei and walked inside.

Various freshly graduated shinigami gathered around each other and talked in excited whispers. Although Naruto didn't attend the academy, he was still allowed to be at the division assigning because of the deal his sensei, Aizen, made with Yamamoto.

"Naruto-kun!" a familiar voice cried.

The blond haired shinigami looked around the crowd of students and spotted a familiar bun haired head.

"Hinamori-chan!"

After Naruto's first meeting with the energetic Hinamori Momo, he had decided to come back a couple days later with Aizen for a visit. He had been introduced to the white-haired youth known as Hitsugaya Toushirou; who although was a bit of a brat was very protective of Hinamori. They had all been friends ever since, although he saw less of them when they decided to enter the shinigami academy.

"Shinigami-chibi," a voice to his left mocked.

Naruto turned toward the voice and smirked, before he could start an argument with the red-haired graduate, another voice interrupted.

"Ah, Renji, no need to start a fight."

"Yeah, Renji-_chan_, no need to start a fight," Naruto sniffed and turned his head away in a decidedly mocking fashion. "No one will be there to save you this time."

The red head known as Renji fumed and rolled up his kimono sleeves. He made to take a menacing step forward but was halted by a dirty blond haired graduate who grabbed him under the shoulders. Renji reached out his hands as if to strangle the young shinigami from a distance."Let me go, Kira! Let me hit em' just one good time! I'll teach that brat some manners!"

Naruto laughed as Renji struggled in Kira's hold while Hinamori tried to placate the raging shinigami to no noticeable effect. The blond remembered how he had first met the duo of male graduates.

**xXx**

"_This is Uzumaki Naruto and he will be joining us on our trip to the living world."_

"_What the hell?! But he's just a kid!"_

"_Naruto-kun! What are you doing here?"_

"_Wah! Hello to you too, Hinamori."_

"_Hinamori, you know this runt?"_

"_Who you calling runt, no-brows?!"_

"_No-brows?! Why you little . . . !"_

"_Renji! Calm down, I'm sure he didn't mean it."_

"_Kira! Don't take this little bastard's side! Besides, he'll just get in our way."_

"_Yeah, Renji! He didn't mean it, did you, Naruto-kun?"_

"_Sniff . . . I didn't mean it Momo-cham, it's just that ugly read head messed with me first . . . "_

"_Renji! Look, you've gone and made him cry!"_

"_Awww, calm down Naruto-kun. Renji's just a poopy head."_

"_Gah! Am I the only one not fooled by this brat's act?!"_

"_HEY! Calm down, all of you!"_

"_Shuuhei-senpai! He started it!"_

"_I don't care, I'm going to finish it."_

_Naruto stuck his tongue out childishly to a Renji whose face was as red as his hair. The blond shinigami immediately straightened when Shuuhei turned to glare at him while Renji snickered behind his hand but stopped when he also received Shuuhei's death glare of doom._

_Kira just sighed in exasperation while Momo took it upon herself to confront the 'upset' Naruto._

_The three fourteen-year-old looking students with their sixteen-year-old looking senpai Shuuhei were on their very first trip to the living world for dummy hollow training when Aizen announced that he had a captain's meeting and arranged for Naruto to get some real world experience by being a part of the trip also._

_Abarai Renji was a loud and rather annoying red head with matching red eyes who had no eyebrows oddly enough. His hair was tied back in a ponytail and he had a white headband wrapped around his hair. He was currently glowering at Naruto who was rather immune to his anger under the protection of Momo. His clothes consisted of the usual male academy uniform with his sword placed in the obi._

_Kira Izuru appeared to be rather shy and docile at first sight, but once you got to know him he was rather outspoken and passionate about whatever he believed in. He had short blond hair that covered his blue eyes slightly and wore the male academy uniform with his sword in the obi. He was currently trying to placate Renji to no effect._

_Hisagi Shuuhei appeared to be very intimidating at first sight. He had rather spiky black hair and a sharp face. However, what really made anyone wary of him were the tattoos on various parts of his body. On his face he had the number '69' and what appeared to be a choker around his neck with a matching band on his arm. Although his appearance screamed rebel, he was actually quite virtuous_ _and responsible._

_Shuuhei sighed and ran a hand through his spiky locks. "Okay listen up," he looked pointedly at Renji, "tho' Naruto doesn't look it, he is already a full-fledged shinigami trained by Aizen himself."_

_There were many incredulous splutters (from Renji of course) as Naruto grinned cheekily at a gaping Kira and Renji. Hinamori just giggled into her hand and looked prideful of the face that she was friends with someone who trained under Aizen._

"_But since he hasn't fought a real hollow, he will be accompanying us so he can get a little experience. Any questions?"_

_Renji opened his mouth to speak but was promptly shut up after a glare from Shuuhei that said 'speak and I will kill you'._

**xXx**

_The Uzumaki felt a wave of nostalgia__washed over him as the five shinigami in training arrived in the living world.__Even though they landed in a clearing who knows how many miles away from civilization, Naruto had a sudden urge to see all that had changed in the world over the years that he had been away from it._

_Questions bombarded his mind and he couldn't even begin to speculate the answers to them._

_Was Sarutobi still the hokage of Konoha, or even alive for that matter? _

_Was Konoha even still standing?_

_Did Ichiruka Ramen go out of business without their number one customer?_

_Was his favorite sensei at the academy, Iruka, still teaching and doing okay?_

_Regret squeezed his heart and he almost wished that he were still alive._

_Almost._

_Life had changed for the better after he died and he wasn't so sure that if even given the chance to go back to life would he have taken it. He started to receive the respect and attention he had always craved, he wasn't shunned or hated (though he was now the object of some people's envy, which was much better than irrational prejudice in his opinion)__and he had friends and people that cared for him._

_He was torn from his musings when Shuuhei cleared his throat. "Okay everyone, welcome to the living world," he threw his hands into the air as if he were revealing a grand scene, "We're here today because we will be training with the use of dummy hollows. Who can tell me the easiest way to kill a hollow?"_

_Hinamori jumped up and down and waved her hands wildy. When the older academy student nodded toward her she acted as if she had won a great prize. "The easiest way to kill a hollow is to attack it from behind and cut off his mask with your zanpakutou."_

_Renji scoffed. "Why would we fight in such a cowardly way? What's wrong with just attacking from the front and taking it down like a man?"_

"_Or a woman," he added after seeing Momo's glare. _

_It was Kira who spoke first. "Well, hollows are normal spirits who have lost their hearts to darkness or who have remained in the living world for to long. The pain and despair they feel are portrayed by the mask that covers their true face. Most shinigami say that the best way to kill hollows from behind is because under the hollow's mask is the face of the spirit before he transformed."_

_A solemn silence__descended over the shinigami's as they thought over the older blonde's words. Naruto didn't know what he would do if one of his best friends became a hollow. He didn't know if he would be able to strike a finishing blow if he knew them before they became the monster driven by instinct._

"_While that may be true, you would be doing them a favor by killing them with your zanpakutou. You have to remember, when you kill a hollow its sins are purged and the spirit is sent to Soul Society where they find peace."_

_Because everyone was lost in their own thoughts and focusing on Shuuhei's words, they didn't notice the small black tear that began to form in the clear blue sky. _

**xXx**

"_HAH!" _

_The dummy hollow broke away into particles of reiatsu and lifted into the air in true hollow fashion._

_The four training shinigami all looked at each other and grinned. Even though they were soar and tired it felt good to have had a good days training._

_Although it was only their very first training trip, they had done surprisingly well. The dummy hollows were a product of the twelfth division and though they only ran and dodged, it was still a workout to chase the adult sized dummies._

_Renji wiped the sweat off his brow and sheathed his sword. "Heh, I destroyed the most."_

_The Uzumaki scowled and opened his mouth to deny the statement, but instead his eyes widened and the words caught in his throat._

_Everything happened far to fast for the blonde to comprehend._

_Renji, who was watching Naruto, shot a confused and slightly frightened look at the blond._

_Hinamori screamed and pointed behind an oblivious red head._

_Kira's eyes opened wide and a frightened cry of "Renji" escaped his throat._

_The tattooed shinigami however__being the first to recover, charged at the red-haired shinigami and tackled him to the ground, but he was a little to slow. The charging hollow's claws tore into his face and flung him away with a spray of blood. Shuuhei cried out in pain as he rolled over the dusty clearing and gripped his wounded face in obvious agony._

_By now everyone was exchanging horrified glances between their wounded senpai, the screeching hollow, and each other. Too stunned to do anything more than gape at the scene before them._

_A real hollow was much worse than a dummy could have ever prepared them for. The air felt heavy and stuffy and the frightened shinigami had a hard time breathing. The spiritual pressure and killing intent released from the beast froze them into place and installed the instinct to flee within them._

_The hollow's mask was shaped in the form of a lion with spikes around its neck in the grotesque parody__of a lion's mane. The hollow__lion was black in color and stood on all fours, crouched low with its bloodied paw stretched outward. It released one more roaring screech before it used its powerful back legs to leap off the ground in an amazing display of speed._

_Renji, being the closest to the hollow, was the first attacked. The red head quickly drew his sword and parried the clawed__swipe of the lion hollow with the flat of his sword. The monster quickly followed up the attack with an array of swift claw strikes that the red head was to busy dodging to launch a counter attack._

_The other's were quickly knocked out of their stupor._

_Kira took this time while the hollow was busy to draw his sword and charge while Hinamori crouched low and began a long incantation for a kido spell._

_Naruto decided that he would stand back and guard Shuuhei and Hinamori should the hollow decide to charge after them.__The Uzumaki shot a look at their downed senpai and cringed. He was covering his face with his hands and seemed to be whimpering in pain. Naruto didn't know how they were going to get back to Soul Society without their wounded senpai._

"_Hadou One: Reigeki!_**"**

_Momo straightened her palm toward the hollow and the two battling shinigami jumped aside to make a path for her spell. Blue particles of reiatsu began to congregate in her palm before it formed a compressed orb of energy. The small blue orb of energy seemed to draw into itself before it expanded to five times its regular size. With a cry, the ball of compressed reiatsu shot forward toward the watching hollow._

_The spell hit its mark and exploded with a spectacular display of light. Naruto was momentarily impressed by the girls impressive kido to have used a basic spell to such extent. _

_A dust cloud immediately covered the clearing and debris flew through the air. The shinigami all covered their eyes and waited with bated breath to view the results of Hinamori's spell._

_What happened next surprised everyone._

_The hollow sped out of the dust cloud before it even cleared, its glowing yellow eyes wide behind its mask. It raced past a surprised Renji and Kira and headed straight toward an exhausted Hinamori. It reached her and reached back its claw for a killing strike._

_Naruto felt the world stop._

_Literally._

**xXx**

_**Do you want to save your friend?**_

_Yes . . . _

_**Why . . . ?**_

_Because . . . because she's important to me!_

_**How important?**_

_She . . . she was my first real friend . . . She's one of my most precious people!_

_**Then fly . . . **_

_Fly . . . ?_

_**And soar . . . **_

_Soar . . . _

_**Listen . . . and hear my name whispered in the wind's song . . . !**_

"_Fly through the heavens above! __Ryuukitaka!__**"**_

**xXx**

After that particular incident the four became fast friends even though Naruto wasn't in the academy. Ever since that day, whenever they all had a day off they would all spend it together, doing whatever they enjoy doing most.

Although the red head and blond seemed to dislike each other after there first meeting, they actually have a respectful bond between each other. And when it seemed as if they were engaged in heated arguments, to them it was just playful banter.

Kira and Naruto weren't particularly close but they got along well enough when the friends all got together.

"So what division do you guys think you will be in?" Kira asked.

Hinamori got _that_ look in her eye and the male shinigami tried not to roll their eyes heavenward. "I hope I get put in the fifth division!"

The males all tuned her out as she went on to bestow Aizen and the fifth division praise with never-ending enthusiasm. Sometimes Naruto wondered if it was even healthy to have an obsession with something like Momo did.

"To tell you the truth, I wouldn't mind being with my friends, so I guess the fifth division. But what I really want to join is the eleventh division. Heh, they're my kind of people," Renji grinned.

Naruto scoffed and tried to suppress a smirk. "Yeah, primitive apes who can only swing their sword around."

Abarai opened his mouth to spit out an angry retort when Kira chose that moment to interrupt him. "The eleventh division is actually one of the most respected divisions for their amazing sword fighters."

Both Renji and Naruto rolled their eyes. Kira was such a nerd.

"I don't really care what division I'm put in, but I hope it's the fifth. Not only are most of my friends trying to get in," he paused and a blush spread across his nose, "but Ichimaru Gin is kind of my idol."

The young shinigami had to suppress guffaws when he heard that particular statement. He didn't know how anyone could actually see Ichimaru as a role model. To Naruto, Ichimaru was the opposite of what you wanted your kids to grow up to be.

The red-haired academy graduate elbowed the blond shinigami with his elbow lightly. "I'm guessin' you also want to be put in the fifth division."

Naruto opened his mouth to answer but he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He knew this feeling a lot more intimately than he would have liked to admit.

Killing intent.

He looked over his shoulder and found a group of shinigami all glaring at him. The blond already knew they were jealous of him, but didn't they have anything better to do but wish they could be him?

'Jeeze, this gets so annoying. I don't know if I should be flattered or pissed._'_

'_I like pissed best. That way, we can give them a taste of their own medicine.'_

Naruto turned around to face the shinigami fully and glared. Their killing intent was nothing compared to what he felt from the master of intimidation, Ichimaru Gin.

**xXx**

_Naruto had to repress a shudder as he looked into the face of Ichimaru Gin. He didn't know what was scarier. When the silver haired shinigami was smiling, or when he was serious. _

_The blond studied his sensei for the day's face and cringed. Serious was definitely scarier._

"_Today Naruto, I'm going to teach you the art of intimidation. Do you know what killing intent is, Naruto?"_

_A thoughtful frown appeared on his young face and after a few seconds of contemplation he shook his head slowly._

_Ichimaru looked as if he had expected that answer. "Killing intent, or ki for short, is basically an aura one gives off that triggers a basic instinct in a human to run._ _Predators use it all the time when they stalk there prey._ _Ki can be used in many ways. For example," he smiled and Naruto felt himself stiffen. He felt as if a snake had wrapped around his neck and that the life was slowly being squeezed out of him. The smile was replaced with a serious frown and Naruto immediately crumpled to the ground while inhaling greedy gulps of air._

_Gin regarded the sweating boy on the ground for a second. "What I just did was laced my smile was ki. You can put ki to anything. Your eyes, your voice, and as you just saw, something as pleasant as a smile."_

'_Or as unpleasant as a smile' Naruto amended mentally._

"_Ki is important because it can be used in many ways. Intimidation can win a battle before it begins, always remember that."_

**xXx**

Renji and Kira both stiffened while Hinamori seemed to be shivering in slight fright. The blond however was immune to the weak ki that was being directed toward them.

The red head placed a hand on his shoulder. "Just let it go man, don't want to start any trouble."

"Yeah Naru-kun, just ignore them," Momo added shakily.

Naruto looked at his friends before turning to the still glaring shinigami.

"No, I'll handle this."

The young shinigami felt it was time to test his training out.

Naruto felt around himself for that familiar aura that felt noticeably darker than his reiatsu. He brought the ki to his eyes and concentrated on the two shinigami alone so everyone else in the room wouldn't be affected.

The results were instantaneous. Their eyes widened and there body's turned as stiff as a board. As soon as Naruto released the ki they could only stand there on shaky legs and look at him with fear.

The blond shook his head sadly. He didn't even get to use the demonic ki he had been training on using. If he had the two probably would have died of heart attacks.

And that would suck.

Slightly.

Naruto turned back to his friends who were watching him curiously. He raised an eyebrow and shrugged helplessly. He didn't want to have to explain his entire training regimen. He needed a few tricks up his sleeve whenever they decided to dual.

Before the blond had a chance to respond, a hush fell over the crowd as the taichou of the first division entered the room.

**xXx**

The shinigami roster had been announced and it turned out that Naruto and all his friends had been put in the fifth division (much to everyone's delight).

His friends were currently talking amongst themselves with Momo being the loudest in her excitement in being in Aizen's division. Renji was expressing his displeasure about not being in the eleventh or sixth while Kira appeared to be trying to look less satisfied to appease Abarai who was complaining just for the sake of complaining.

The blond too was pleased, but there was one thing stopping him from enjoying the celebrations to its full extent.

Naruto stopped Aizen before he made his leave of the rapidly declining room. "Aizen-taichou! I was made third seat . . . What happened to Tousen?"

The bespectacled shinigami turned to face Naruto fully and put on a small smile. "Oh, he was promoted to the fukutaichou of the ninth division."

"Oh . . . "

"Yes, you should get back to the fifth division and rest up. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

Naruto sighed and nodded. Tomorrow would be his first day as an official on duty shinigami. He should have been jumping for joy.

So why did it feel as if his life was about to take a turn for the worse?

**xXx**


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

A/N: Woooh doggy, this chapter was easy to write. But I was being lazy and I just didn't feeeel like writing it. A little warning about this chapter, it is kind of dark and a little gritty, so yeah, you've been warned.

Read and review.

**xXx**

Chapter 3:

True Colors

**xXx**

_Thirty Years Later . . . _

**xXx**

"So, is it finally time to have Uzumaki-kun join our side?"

A man with limp brown hair and brown eyes covered by brown spectacles sat behind his desk, his chin resting on his folded hands. A slow grin began to form on his previously kind face, completely transforming him into what could be called intimidating. "Yes."

The dark-skinned man leaning against the wall frowned and was noticed by the silver haired shinigami. "Ne, Tousen, don't tell me you're going to chicken out on us?"

Tousen sighed and shook his head slowly. "It's not that . . . it's just that, Uzumaki has such a kind and pure spirit. I don't want to see it tainted black."

The leader of the three frowned and his reiatsu began to leak into the air threateningly. The dark-skinned man gasped and looked up quickly, although he could not see. "Remember what we discussed Tousen," he began smoothly, all traces of humor replaced by a deadly serious tone. "Sacrifice is necessary if we are to reach our ultimate goal. Isn't that what you wanted after all? A world that is built to your liking?"

Gin chuckled from his position by the window, his normal grin even more sinister than usual.

Tousen nodded and closed his eyes behind his clear visor. He knew it was for the purpose of achieving their goal.

To be honest with himself, he had grown fond of the blond and didn't feel comfortable with using him for his own gains. He was having his doubts, but it would be worth it in the end. He couldn't let the world go on as it was.

But sometimes he had to wonder. Was the path he walked really paved with less bloodshed?

**xXx**

Uzumaki Naruto sneezed and wiped his nose idly. Someone must have been talking about him.

The blond haired shinigami scowled at the ground and continued the random patrol he was assigned by his tiachou. He felt his previous ire began to return full force. _I'm a fukutaichou for God's sake! I have better things to do than patrol the outskirts of Rukongai!_

Naruto sighed and wiped a hand through his locks in boredom. He had been walking around idly for a few hours now and not once had he spotted a stray hollow trying to enter Rukongai.

With nothing better to do, he began to reminisce.

A lot had happened since one Uzumaki Naruto became a full-fledged shinigami. Although every now and then the thirteen-year-old in appearance felt a sense of ice cold dread began to form in his stomach, life had only gotten better.

Immediately after becoming third seat of the fifth division Naruto began to get to work. It was a surprisingly boring job compared to what he had hoped. He took care of the less important paperwork, trained the new division members, patrolled Soul Society and the living world alike, and every now and then he fought B to low A rank hollows.

Five years after he was promoted to third seat; Kaname Tousen, Ichimaru Gin, and Kuchiki Byakuya were all promoted to taichou of the ninth, third, and sixth division respectably. With no fukutaichou of the fifth division, Naruto was immediately the first choice for the position. He gladly accepted and was one step closer to his ultimate dream.

Being a active person by nature, Naruto could safely say that being a fukutaichou was sometimes more boring than being a third seat. At least then he had less paperwork, more free time, and more training time. Although he felt a lot more important, got a lot more respect, and fought the occasional A rank hollow, Naruto felt as if he was cheated in some way. He personally expected to fight hollows daily and just kick ass, but he was sorely disappointed.

Renji, Kira, and Hinamori, though slightly jealous, were very proud of their friend who had become one of the youngest fukutaichou in history. His white haired friend, Toushiro, was quickly catching up to the blond in records for the youngest to achieve things.

After a full ten years of serving under the fifth division with each other, the group of friends began to branch off.

Abarai Renji diverged off to become sixth seat of the eleventh division like he had wanted to. With hard work he quickly became the third seat until he was transferred once again to the sixth division third seat.

Kira Izuru followed Ichimaru Gin and became third seat of the third division. Although Naruto didn't exactly understand why, the other blond seemed to be content working under someone who Naruto thought was very intimidating just by standing around.

The only one who didn't move from their original division were Naruto and Momo. Hinamori trained hard and eventually secured the third seat of their division. Although the girl wouldn't admit it, she was definitely envious of her friend for taking the fukutaichou position. Even after he had assured her when he became taichou she could have the seat.

A scream pierced the quite air, effectively brining the shinigami out of the past and into the present with a snap.

He paused and listened intently for which direction the voice came from. He felt an icy chill roll down his spine when the scream echoed again. He recognized that voice anywhere.

'_Momo!'_

**xXx**

In the taichou office of the fifth division, light filtered through the window and reflected ominously over brown eyeglasses. "Ah, so it begins . . . "

He couldn't help but release the sinister chuckle that burst from his throat.

**xXx**

A soft tap was the only sound that marked the arrival of the blond as he landed on the dusty ground with a quick shinpo. What he saw ahead him made him sick to his stomach and furious in the same breath.

Standing before him was a shinigami who appeared to be in his thirties and he had unkemptbrown hair that was stuck to his forehead with sweat. His eyes were small and beady and a crooked nose (probably from a lot of broken noses, Naruto mused angrily) stood in the center of his face. His mouth curved into a pleased grin when he caught sight of the blond who was shaking in anger.

But what really made Naruto's blood boil was who he held. The man held Hinamori around the waist with his left while his right held a zanpakutou pressed to her neck. Her eyes were wide and frightened as tears streamed down her face. She turned pleading eyes on Naruto and the blond felt his heart break slightly.

If Naruto had not been so blinded by fear and anger, he might have questioned the scene before him.

"Let her go _now _you ugly bastard!" he snarled, reaching for the hilt of his zanpakutou which rested on his back.

The brown haired man placed on a look of mock annoyance before he spoke. "Hey there, no need for name calling," he pressed the blade closer when he saw the blond move and Hinamori whimpered in fright, "I was just having a little fun . . . "

Naruto hesitated, unable to make a move without fear of his friend having their throat slashed. "If you do anything to her, I swear I'll kill you!" He growled low in his throat. He hated feeling so helpless.

"Calm down . . . I don't plan on hurting her. In fact, I plan on making her feel good . . ." He leaned forward and pressed his nose to Hinamori's neck, all the while maintaining eye-contact with the blond. He took a deep breath and his eyes seemed to roll into the back of his head. "You smell so nice . . . I wonder if you taste is good as you smell . . ." He licked her neck, leaving a trail of saliva as he ran his tongue up to her ear. Hinamori whimper and shuddered with revulsion.

Naruto felt something inside of him snap.

White-hot rage the likes of which he had never felt before began to build up deep within him. It was like a volcano. The anger and hate boiling just below the surface, ready to burst forth in a spray of molten lava.

His hand clenched and unclenched, blood beginning to grip from his palms as his rapidly growing claws began to bite into his skin. Particles of reiatsu began to form over his face in a fox like mask and he threw back his head and howled a deadly shriek. When he lowered his head, they were completely red with black slitted pupils.

A red misty haze began to flow off his skin, dancing in the air before vanishing. The killing intent he released had the man dropping his sword and taking unconscious steps back in fright.

He grabbed his sword hilt and drew it slow and deliberately; not even sparing a glance as Momo fell to the ground with a startled cry and looked up at him hesitantly. "Naruto-kun...?"

There was only one thought running through the blonds head, and that was to kill.

He pointed his drawn sword at the man who was cowering on the ground, pleading with him to spare his life.

His pleas went unheard.

"_Ban . . . kai!"_

**xXx**

All across Soul Society people everyone stopped what they were doing to stare in blank shock and horror. People with low reiatsu stood frozen, unable to move as the heavy air weighed them down. The killing intent was almost palpable as it blanketed Soul Society in a thick blanket.

In Seireitei, shinigami began running around wildly, issuing orders as they prepared to deal with whatever it was that had all of Soul Society in panic. The newer recruits were trembling in fear, not sure what exactly was going on. They had never felt anything like it before, the pressure so strong they could feel the emotions in them.

Malevolent and angry.

**xXx**

Naruto dropped to his knees as tears begin to blur his eyes. Red stained his hands as he felt bile begin to rise in his throat. He dropped his red stained zanpakutou in horror.

He had killed him. And he had enjoyed it.

The blond turned his shaky vision to Hinamori and she flinched visibly. Horror began to eat at his insides as he watched his best friend cower from him. "Hinamori . . . "

She flinched again and tears began to pour out of her eyes. He knew that look, and he had wished for all his life that he would never see it in her eyes. He wished to never see that look directed at him ever again.

Fear.

His best friend was afraid of him. And it broke his already fragile heart.

He tears flowed freely now as he watched his most precious person look away from him. "Hinamori . . . please!" He didn't know what he was pleading for, but he wished with all of his heart and soul that she wouldn't ever look at him with fear again.

He was unable to finish pleading for shinigami of different levels surrounded him. They began to speak, but he heard none of it. Even as he felt spells hit him and unconsciousness began to creep into the corner of his vision, he never took his eyes of

Momo.

**xXx**

The taichou of the gotei thirteen all stood lined up in rows of twos, their toutaichou standing at the very edge and center. He looked at them all with steely eyes and when he spoke, his voice was deep and clear as it resounded through the white walls of the building. "Has the person responsible for the large reiatsu and killing intent been apprehended?"

Kuchiki Byakuya, the recently promoted taichou of the sixth division spoke, his voice cool and collected. "Yes, he has, and he is currently being held in the maximum security cell in the fourth division."

A fuzzy white eyebrow rose. "Oh? And what is the name of the one responsible for all of this commotion?"

For once, Byakuya hesitated, and when he spoke, his voice was guarded and wary. "Uzumaki Naruto."

Almost immediately there were cries of outrage and shock but they were immediately quieted by the reiatsu steadily increasing from the old first division taichou. "What?" His voice was deadly quite and demanding.

This time it was Soifon, taichou of the second division who spoke. Her voice was respectable instead of the cold tone she usually used. "When we arrived on the scene we found what appeared to be a large one-sided battle between Uzumaki and an unknown shinigami. Uzumaki's reiatsu was all over the place so we know he was the one who did the most damage. The person Uzumaki was fighting appeared to have been badly cut around ninety percent of their body; the cuts were definitely not consistent with that of a blade.Also, Hinamori Momo was there and when she was questioned, she said she didn't remember and was unconscious the whole time."

For a while no one spoke, and when someone brave enough finally did it was the slightly cautious tone of Ukitake Jushiro. "What will happen to the boy?"

The old first division taichou voice was resigned and final "...He will have to be executed. The reiatsu we felt was that of a hollow and the killing intent was that of a youkai. It is clear that Uzumaki is basically everything we fight against rolled up into one package and must be destroyed immediately."

Having to play the role of concerned taichou, Aizen spoke. "Be that as it may Yamamoto-toutaichou, but Uzumaki has been nothing but loyal to Soul Society since his arrival. If anything that man he killed must have been doing something inappropriate with Hinamori to have triggered such a reaction."

Yamamoto shot him with a stern glare and the bespectacled taichou immediately went rigid. "We must follow the rules of Soul Society, no matter who they pertain to. Uzumaki Naruto will be executed tomorrow by way of Soukyoku. You're all dismissed."

**xXx**

Naruto stared at the iron bars in front of him, his eyes glazed in unseeing.

He had just killed for the first time and his best friend thought he was a monster.

Naruto had never felt as much of the monster Konoha always proclaimed him to be than he did now.

He didn't know what had happened exactly. One minute he was pissed as hell and ready to bash the guy's skull in, the next he was staring at his mangled corpse with blood all over him. Just thinking about the blood and Hinamori's frightened look almost made the blond throw up in the edge of his small cell.

Lifting his fingers, he inspected them. Although he had been allowed to be cleaned and was changed into something that resembled an old potato sack, he could still see the blood underneath his fingernails.

The old futon he laid on was itchy and uncomfortable and the spirit cuffs around his wrists bit into his skin. He didn't know how he felt about being imprisoned. Although he had killed a shinigami he had a good reason. He was only helping a friend.

His gazed snapped up when he heard footsteps approaching his cell. He felt relief and hope begin to creep into his chest when he spotted the familiar bespectacled shinigami. "Aizen-taichou! You've come to get me out oh here, right?"

Aizen regarded the imprisoned blond for a moment before he sighed. "Naruto, I need to tell you something very important."

The blond felt a feeling of dread begin to pool in his stomach where hope once was.

"Soul Society plans to have you executed tomorrow," he said in absolute seriousness.

Naruto felt his world stop. He didn't know they took killing other shinigami so seriously in Soul Society. He gulped and pushed away his growing unease.

"Tomorrow . . . why?"

"Because . . . you're a vizard."

"I'm a what . . . ?"

"A vizard. A vizard is a person who has a hollow inside of them."

"Wh-wha . . . But . . . How the hell did a hollow get inside me?!" Naruto cried in confusion.

"It happened when you first died. Remember that mask you took off your face when I first met you? That was your hollow mask . . . "

"So what if I had a hollow inside me?! ...God, this is just like with the Kyuubi . . . "

"That's not all . . . "

Naruto groaned. How could his life get any worse than dying in less than twenty-four hours?

"They also know that you are a hanyou, which makes you twice as different as before. Hanyou are already rare, so are vizards, add the two and you have a very rare breed of shinigami. Vizard's aren't tolerated in Soul Society, and youkai are usually sent to Hell . . . "

He turned away from the blond to hide the rapidly building smirk. "But," he continued, effectively catching the blond before he spiraled into total depression, "I can help you escape from here and hide you somewhere safe."

"Wh-what?! H-how?!" Naruto cried, hope sparking back to life in the gloom that was his heart.

"Only on one condition . . . "

"Please, Aizen-taichou, I'll do anything!"

"You have to pledge your complete and total loyalty to me and _only_ me."

"...what?"

"You have to obey what I say and no one else. Not Yamamoto, not Gin, and not Tousen. But me and only me."

"...w-what? Why . . . ? I don't understand . . . " he mumbled softly, frustration beginning to appear on his features.

He turned back to face the confused blond, all traces of the previous smirk replaced with absolutely seriousness. "Naruto, I have a dream."

"...a dream?" Naruto asked warily.

"Yes. I had a dream of creating a new world."

Naruto remained quite as he listened to his taichou. "And I can create this world Naruto. I can mold and shape this world into whatever I want. I can add whatever you want too Naruto. Tell me, what kind of world would you like to live in . . . ?"

The blond thought back to his life in Konoha and the look he had seen in Hinamori's eyes as he lost consciousness.

"A world . . . without fear or hate," he said seriously.

Inside, Aizen was scoffing in disgust, but on the outside, he appeared sympathetic. "Well I can create that world Naruto. _We_ can create that world. Together. Think about it, no matter what, no one will ever fear you. No one will ever hate you. And all you have to do is join me . . . "

The blond seemed to consider it. His head bowed low and his bangs covering his sad violet eyes.

He bowed low on one knee and spoke clearly. "I pledge my complete loyalty to you . . . Aizen-sama."

A maniacal grin formed on the older shinigami's face as he watched the blond kneeling before him. It was just too easy to bend the blond to his will.


	5. Interlude

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto.

A/N: Yo, this is xBrokenSin _again_, bringing you something new in the Rising Universe.

First of all, I want it to be known that this is an "Interlude", not an actual chapter. I have been getting reviews and PM's from a certain "someone" asking that I write a scene about this! So here it is! Another thing, this takes place like... after chapter 3. OO

Also, I have a new story out, called "The Rising Pheonix". At first, it was going to be a re-write of this story, because this story is kinda badly written and missing scenes that would be nice to have. (Like this scene for example )

So, go read it if you like Falcon and better written stuff.

Oh, also, this was rushed! So any grammar mistakes and stuff is my fault.

* * *

_In Soul Society . . . _

Hinamori Momo stood outside a small wooden building, looking at the sign that hung over the door in slight distaste. The sign was of a bottle of sake with a small cup beside it.

Sighing and shaking her head, Momo decided it didn't matter and entered the small establishment. She wasn't much of a drinker, but for today — she decided she could probably make an exception.

The interior of the small bar looked no better on the inside than it did on the outside. Small circular tables were placed periodically and small pillow mats replaced chairs. Mostly men sat at the small tables, talking in boisterous voices and drinking their alcohol from bottles like water. At the very back of the building, an overweight man was behind a counter; he was cleaning his glasses with a rag and was glaring at Momo warily. The only light in the bar seemed to be from the beams coming from the various windows, giving the bar a somber mood.

'_Or maybe that's just me,'_ she thought wistfully. _'Everything seems darker, now that he isn't around to make it lighter.'_

A familiar head of red hair caught Momo's attention, and she began to head in their direction.

Abarai Renji was staring into his cup of sake as if it held the answer to life's questions, his long red hair was pulled up into a ponytail. When he looked up, his slightly glazed eyes focused on her and he gave a strained smile. Under his eyes were dark bags, and it was obvious that he hadn't been sleeping well.

Seeing Momo's concern, he turned back to his sake and frowned.

Kira Izuru, his only visible eye looking at Renji in concern also, lifted his gaze to catch Momo's eye. He smiled softly, his smile looking a lot more real than Renji's. "Hinamori, have a seat."

Momo took a seat on the surprisingly soft pillow and said a polite thanks when Kira poured her a cup of sake. She held the sake to her lips and took a tentative sip of the amber liquid. The bitter flavor assaulted her taste buds and burned when it went down her throat. Coughing and spluttering, she sat down the cup of sake and glared at a slightly amused Kira.

Momo returned her attention back to her drink and began to swirl it slightly. For some reason, the swirling liquid reminded her of a familiar head of spiky blond with streaks, and she took a large gulp to maybe still the memories that threatened to resurface. Tears began to pool in her eyes, and it wasn't from the burn of the drink going down her throat.

Unable to take the silence any longer, Momo slammed down her cup, drawing the startled attention of both men. "I–I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Renji and Kira exchanged glances, both looking equally confused.

"Hinamori, what's wrong?" Kira asked, scooting over and putting a comforting arm around Momo's shoulders.

The tears, which had been sitting in the corner of her eyes, began to steadily track down her face. "It—it's all my fault," she said, burying herself into Kira's shoulder and crying. She grabbed Kira's shinigami robe in her hands and sobbed, the force of her gasps making her shoulders shake.

Renji frowned at Momo in concern before looking around the building, glaring at anyone who was watching them curiously. He turned back to the sobbing girl and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Momo looked up from Kira's shoulder and shot Renji a fierce — and heartbreaking — glare. "Naruto," she snarled, ignoring how Kira tensed and Renji flinched as if slapped. "It's," she choked, all the anger leaving her and replacing it with guilt and sadness, "it's, my fault he died."

Kira tensed impossibly tight, and for a second Momo thought he would pull away, while Renji made an odd choking noise and gaped. "Wh–what are you talking about?" Renji asked finally. "Naruto — Naruto was executed . . . "

Momo sniffed pitifully and returned her gaze to the forgotten sake. "I _know_!" she practically shouted. Lowering her voice, she repeated, "I know. But — but it was my fault that he . . . " Momo paused and shook her head sadly.

"The day – the day when Naruto revealed what he was . . . I – I was patrolling the fifth division when—" Momo paused, beginning to tear up again, while Kira rubbed soothing circles on her back "—I was _attacked_ by this g_uy_. I didn't have my zanpakutou . . . and he just jumped out of nowhere . . . "

Kira began to make shushing noises while Renji looked at a loss for words. "Shh," Kira whispered soothingly, "you don't have to tell us."

"No," Momo cried, struggling to get out of Kira's grip but not succeeding. She gave up with a resigned sigh and relaxed into Kira's embrace. "I want to tell you. I have to get this off my chest . . . "

Kira and Renji said nothing, so Momo began her tale again.

"I was so scared . . . I started struggling and screaming . . . but he was too strong—" By now both Kira and Renji were comforting Momo who had began to cry again. When she began talking again, her voiced was clogged with tears. "—He . . . he dragged me away, and I thought he was going to _rape_ me! But then . . . Naruto arrived, and I was so relieved that I just . . . I just fainted!

"If I wasn't so weak . . . I could have protected myself . . . then . . . Naruto would still be here!"

"No," Renji said lowly but fiercely.

Momo looked at him in shock. "What?"

Renji slammed his fist heavily on the table, the sake bottle tipped dangerously but realigned itself. He ignored the shocked looks of his friends and the glares from the other patrons of the bar. "It wasn't your fault, and don't you ever say it was! If anything, it was that bastard's fault . . . not yours! If anything, it was . . . my fault."

Now, it was both Kira and Momo who looked at him in shock and asked, "What?"

"I was such a coward." Renji shook his head in self-disgust. "I – I went to the execution, and just watched as Naruto was . . . burned alive! I should have done something! I should have just, jumped up there and saved him . . . but . . . I was too afraid. Like a dog on a leash, I was too afraid to go against my master."

"It wasn't your fault either," Kira said fiercely. "It wasn't any of our faults! Instead of just – _blaming_ ourselves, we should make a vow!"

"A vow?" Renji repeated dubiously.

"Yeah! We make a vow that, instead of just sulking around when our friends our in trouble, we will do everything in our power to help them out!"

Momo smiled and wiped away her tears. "And, that instead of moping around, we should always remember Naruto as our light. The light that brightens the dark times of our lives ahead."

Renji looked at her blankly. "That was the worst speech I've ever heard." He grinned then, the first grin since witnessing the death of his best friend. "But you're right. You're _both_ right."

"So it's settled," Kira said with a grin.

"Yeah," Momo and Renji agreed.

And when Momo looked around the small bar again, it didn't look quite as dark as it did before.

* * *

A/N: ZOMG, Another aurthor's note at the bottom! I liked the end of this interlude. Fore-shadowing, much?

Does anyone detect Kira x Momo x Renji here? Lolz, if so, their is nothing going on, just friendship.

Also, writing this makes me want to do Naruto x Hinamori, WAH! Right now thats what I'm leaning toward.


	6. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

A/N: Welcome back to another exciting episode of 'The Rising Falcon'! cheers

Okay, first of all, as of now this story has no defined pairings. I was thinking maybe Naruto x Hinamori, Naruto x Tatsuki, Naruto x Orihime, or even Naruto x Yoruichi. If you want a pairing (or none at all) just drop a review telling why and what not.

Also, I'm kind of dissapointed in what I did with chapter 3. It had everything I wanted it to yet I feel as if it was lacking... I tried to make up for it in this chapter and I think I did a good job.

Originally, this chapter was going to be EVEN LONGER but I decided that it was long enough and ended it where it did. Okay, were getting closer and closer to the main Bleach storyline, but I still have a little while to go. Be paitent with me!

I think I did a good job of adding alot of elements into this chapter also. Adventure/Humor/Drama/Angst all rolled into one package! Enjoy!

Don't forget; READ AND REVIEW! Thank you. smile

**xXx**

Chapter 4:

Hollows, Vizards, and Shinigami. Oh My!

**xXx**

His boots clicked softly off the stone floor as he walked through the tall hallways. Blond with red and black streaked bangs covered his violet eyes. He glared at any hollow or arrancar that wandered to close. He wouldn't put it past the monsters to try to attack him when he let his guard down. His zanpakutou, which rested comfortably on his back, was a constant presence he welcomed with open arms.

He wore a white hakamathat was tied with a black sash. Resting snugly around his body was a white long sleeved jacket that went all the way down to his thighs. The jacket was undone, exposing a fare amount of his tones stomach and chest.On his abdomen was a large green tattoo of the number zero, marking him as the strongest member of the group known as the Espeda. Even if the hollows had any ill will toward him, they knew better than to attack.

Naruto had changed drastically after his episodein Soul Society. He remembered all too well of how he had sat in that cell, drowning in his despair as his second chance at life turned out to be even more painful than the first.

In his first life, he had no one to love and no one to lose. When he died, it was more of a release because he knew that he was leaving no one behind.

But then he died and went to Soul Society. They had accepted him with open arms and finally he had something he had craved since he was only a child. Attention and respect. He should have known it was to good to be true.

When he had finally accepted that Soul Society was indeed his new home, he worked hard to gain the respect of everyone their. Day after day he strived and day after day he got a little bit closer. And then, unexceptedly, it was stripped from him forcibly just for what he was. Just for being something he had absolutely no control over.

It wasn't his fault the Kyuubi no Kitsune was sealed inside of him. It wasn't his fault that the darkness in his heart from living a life of loneliness had almost transformed him into a hollow. It wasn't his fault that he took the only choice left and became a vizard. It seemed that life (and the afterlife for that matter) had it out for him. No matter what he did, it seemed as if he just didn't have a choice. It was as if he was just condemned to not have the life he wanted, no matter how hard he tried, just because he couldn't change what he was.

Through it all, it seemed as if one person hadn't left, no matter what he was. Aizen Sousuke. In fact, he made Naruto feel special for what he was. Yes, Naruto had his zanpakutou, and she tried her best to give him reassurance; but sometimes, it just wasn't enough.

No matter what anyone said, Naruto knew that if given the choice, he would give it all up just to be normal; just to have normal problems, normal friends, normal _everything_.

Thinking of Aizen made him think of Ichimaru Gin and Kaname Tousen. He wondered how the two shinigami were doing. He hadn't seen the three in a couple months. They would visit from time to time, but Naruto hardly ever saw them.

His thoughts drifted over to his _friends_ he had felt behind in Soul Society. He wondered how they felt about him briefly before squashing those thoughts ruthlessly. It wouldn't do to always wonder. He had to think of his present, of his _future._

Naruto thought back to the deal he had made with Aizen.

He knew it had been rash and reckless, but he was only a string away from being broken. (And he was still young by shinigami standards!) The deal had looked so good at the time when everything was black. The deal was the light that had saved him from just giving up on life.

A world to _his_ liking.

After agreeing, Aizen had used his to zanpakutou to create an illusion. Being, the first time that Naruto had ever seen the sword in its shikai, he had no idea what to expect. His shikai allowed him to create a fake Naruto. The Naruto illusion was the one executed instead while Aizen freed Naruto from his cell.

With his tracks covered, he sent Naruto to a clearing where the bespectacled shinigami called a menos hollow. To put it simply, Naruto was shocked and confused.

**xXx**

_Aizen explained the plan to the bewildered Naruto. "Naruto, did you know that there are a hollow equivalent__of a vizard?" _

_Seeing the confused shake of the head, Aizen continued. "Well, they are called arrancar. When a hollow removes his mask he transforms into a shinigami hallow hybrid, expect unlike with the vizards, the hollow is the dominate force. They get a zanpakutou which has their original formed sealed within it and they can use shinigami skills as well as hollow skills._

"_To create my new world, I would need to rule it. And seeing as Soul Society is being overseen by Yamamoto and the shinigami, I will need a way to defeat them._

"_You see Naruto, I have made a deal with the hollows, where I am their ruler and they obey my command. I already rule the hollow world, then with Soul Society in my rule, it will be a matter of time before I rule the living world and become the true God."_

**xXx**

After the explanation, Naruto could so the logic in the plan and wondered how he convinced hollows to follow him. He hadn't had time to ask as the hollow then used something called _negation_, a power only menos class hollows could use that teleported them to and from the hollow, Hueco Mundo.

Naruto was a vizard, which meant hollows hated him for being a shinigami. It was ironic. Shinigami hated him for having a hollow inside of him and hollows hated him for once being a shinigami. When he had first arrived there were quite a few who openly displayed there hostility toward him. It was almost like being back in Konoha again. But instead of allowing the hollows of Hueco Mundo to step all over him like he did before, he fought back.

At first, Naruto was targeted by only low level hollows who wanted to rise in the ranks while the stronger hollows disregarded his existence completely. Whenever a hollow would try to fight him it would soon find itself being purified and sent to Soul Society. The weaker hollows began to learn their lesson and stayed put out of fear of being killed.

For a while attempts on his life ceased and Naruto thought it was the end of being attacked. He was wrong. He had been walking toward his room one day when a hollow he had never seen before approached him. He was a vasto lorde hollow who was apparently looking for a challenge. He went by the name of Nnoitra.

**xXx**

_Naruto stood in the barren deserts of Hueco Mundo, hollows of all shapes, sizes, and classes gathered around to watch the spectacle before them._

_The backwards crescent moon hung in the ever present inky black sky. No stars dotted the sky and no winds blew in the desert. Dead trees were see growing periodically and Naruto wondered briefly how they could survive. Everything in the desert of Hueco Mundo was dead. Dead as everything that lived there._

_Before the blond shinigami stood a vasto lorde hollow by the name of Nnoitra. Glossy white scales decorated his mask and a blue diamond covered the left slitted eye._ _The nose protruded outward with two slants for nostrils and then sloped back into the mouth. The mouth was currently curved upwards into a sadistic grin and a blue tongue flickered out between the teeth at random intervals. The snakelike mask was decorated with blue markings around the scale's edge and the eyes. His body was tall and skinny, where the heart once was, was now only a dark hole. Instead of normal skin there was only glossy scales._

_Nnoitra titled his snake-masked head to the side and released a faint hissing noise. "The legendary shinigami everyone has been talking about is only a fucking shrimp! I don't know what Aizen-sama sees in you."_

_Naruto drew his zanpakutou, Ryuukitaka, and pointed it at the sneering_ _hollow. "Well this 'shrimp' is going to kick your scaley ass!"_

_Without even waiting for a signal to start, Naruto pushed reiatsu into his legs and launched off the ground in a fast shunpo. He drew his sword over head and aimed for the chest, not wanting to purify a valuable member of the Espeda by going for their mask. Nnoitra dodged easily and Naruto began a series of fast paced (though non lethal) sword strikes. Like the snake his mask made him appear to be, Nnoitra practically slithered around the attacks as he dodged._

_Tiring of the game, Nnoitra grabbed the zanpakutou mid swing with his hand and delivered a scale enforced kick to the shinigami's gut._

_The force of the punch stole the air from Naruto's lungs and specks of blood to dot his lips. Naruto flew through the air and tucked his body into a tight ball. He landed on the ground in a crouch and placed a hand over his stomach._

_Nnoitra sneered, his blue tongue flicking out as he made annoyed hissing sounds. "Come on, don't hold back! Aim for my mask!" His tongue flicked out again; this time, particles of reiatsu beginning to form at the very tip. The dark purple energy gathered and compressed into a small ball before he launched it in a fast paced bala (hollow bullet)._

_Naruto, seeing the bala as it was being made, reacted fast. He gripped his zanpakutou in a two hand gripped and pointed it heavenward. "Tesai, Ryuukitaka!" When the bala and the reiatsu being pumped out of his shikai collided there was a great explosion which kicked up a large cloud of sand._

_The spiritual pressure in the air increased drastically and the cloud of sand was blown away, revealing nothing but an empty crater._

_Nnoitra hissed in anticipation, glad that the small shinigami was finally taking him a little more seriously._

"_Up here!"_

_Nnoitra directed his attention upward. _

_Up in the air, in front of the backward moon was Naruto, hidden in the shadow he created by blocking the light. His body was curved diagonally; his zanpakutou was gripped in both hands with the blade pointing downward. "Diving Falcon Strike!"_ _Faster than the normal eye could fallow, Naruto put both his wind reiatsu and regular reiatsu into his legs and pushed himself off the thin air. He was launched off on nothing like a rocket and sped toward the ground in astonishing speed. He impacted with the ground with explosive force and there was an enormous explosion and backlash of reiatsu that had the crowd scurrying backward._

_Naruto used his wind control to blast away the dust to have a better look at the scene. Nnoitra lay on the ground, a pool of blood forming from the deep wound on his chest. Naruto had changed directions at the last second, only skimming the Espeda instead of impaling him as the technique intended. _

_Naruto looked at the supposedly unconscious figure and couldn't shake off the feeling that something was wrong._

_Before Naruto could even react, a fist exploded out of the ground and impacted roughly with his chin in a brutal uppercut. He was thrown into the air in an arc but before he could even touch ground a foot connected with his spine. He screamed out in pain, his back bending at an unnatural angle. The force of the blow sent him even higher into the air where he was at least twenty feet above the ground. When he looked above him, there was a sadistically grinning Nnoitra. Before Naruto could even comprehend what was going on the hollow delivered a spinning downward kick that had Naruto sailing toward the ground. As his finishing move for the combo, Nnoitra charged a cero on the tip of his tongue and hurled it toward Naruto who hadn't regained his bearings from the earlier blows._

_The cero connected with Naruto with astounding force and sent up a mushroom cloud of sand._

_Nnoitra landed on the ground softly and began to laugh madly when he couldn't feel the blond shinigami's reiatsu. "You fucking idiot! When you did your little 'falcon strike' I shed my skin and dug underground!" _

_The hollows in the crowd began to cheer in their victory of killing a shinigami but stopped immediately when a different spiritual pressure flared up in the area. It had the same feel as the blond shinigami's but there was a noticeable difference. This reiatsu felt darker and much more evil._

_The reiatsu exploded outward, dispelling all the sand and forcing everyone to cover their eyes. When the sand settled down everyone turned to see who had such powerful reiatsu._

_Naruto stood in the crater created by the cero. It was Naruto, yet it wasn't. Red began to waft off him like a mist and a hollow mask began to fit over his face in the form of a snarling fox. His slitted red eyes were fixed solely on a stunned Nnoitra._

_Nnoitra's laughter had by now died down and he was staring at the demonic shinigami in varying emotions. Shock, disbelief, anger, fear, and although he would never admit it, respect._

_The reiatsu increased and Nnoitra found it hard to keep his footing with every step the blond took toward him. When Naruto stood before the vasto lorde, Nnoitra was on his knees and trembling from the force of the reiatsu and killing intent._

**xXx**

Ever wondered why Nnoitra always wore an eyepatch? That was Naruto.

After his display with the vasto lorde hollow, his reputation increased drastically. It was kind of amazing what fear could do for one's social status. And though there was definitely the hollow who hated his guts, they steered clear out of fear of what he could do to them.

One vasto lorde's respect he earned was Ulquiorra Schiffer. Ulquiorra was the number nine Espeda and the overseer of Las Noches while Aizen was away. He was always checking up on Naruto, and before his fight with Nnoitra he would always call Naruto trash. ("If not for Aizen-sama's orders, trash like you would be disposed of.") It had pissed the blond off something fierce but he had learned to not comment after he had seen Ulquiorra kill a hollow for simply bumping into him by accident. Conversion with the ninth Espeda definitely didn't come easy so Naruto had given up after the first couple days.

The fortress of Las Noches was _huge_. It was as big (if not bigger) as Seireitei and Naruto had gotten lost so many times the first few days that it was struggle to even find a bathroom. After a while Ulquiorra had taken pity on him and finally found a hollow to become his escort. To put it simply, he was grateful for the help.

His escort was an adjucha class menos by the name of Grimmjow Jaggerjack. He was arrogant, rude, and condescending; amazingly, they became fast _friends _(Naruto uses the term 'friend'_ very _loosely).

He and Grimmjow would often help him train his wind shikai, Ryuukitaka (Rising Falcon), but the young shinigami had to be careful or he would purify the hollow by mistake. Oddly enough, Grimmjow loved the thrill of the possibility of being killed and they sparred whenever they could.

His shikai, as its name suggests, called a falcon from the sky to aid him in battle. But this wasn't just an ordinary falcon of course. It was a falcon that could turn into wind itself and wrap around Naruto's body, giving him better reflexes, speed, and strength. He could also use his shikai to control wind and combined with shunpo, he could practically _fly_. His offence attacks were very limited seeing as how Ryuukitaka was more of a support zanpakutou. Naruto found that to his liking seeing as how he was more of a speed type of guy. He had mastered both of his offensive attacks: Falcon Strike and Wind Blades. With a single slash of his sword he could fire wind blades that were invisible to the eye but only mildly powerful.

After he mastered his shikai, he took it to the next level of mastering his bankai. After his first day of releasing his bankai, he learned a very important fact. Bankai was on an entirely different level when compared to the difficulty of shikai. On his first _conscious_ try of unleashing his bankai he had lost control and leveled a good chunk of Las Noches.

He had talked to his spirit and learned that he had reached bankai prematurely. Before he control his bankai he would have to become closer to his spirit and begin a special training in his spirit world. Afterward, his spirit could manifest physically and they would train together to master his bankai.

The doors to Ulquiorra's room came into view and the blond mentally sighed in relief. Even though he knew Los Noches like the back of his hand, it could still be a pain in the ass to _walk_ everywhere. He pushed open the heavy wooden doors and they creaked in protest.

Inside was Ulquiorra, looking out his window and into the desert plains of Hueco Mundo. Ulquiorra had a helmet type hollow mask that covered all of his face expect his green eyes. Two hornlike appendages hung down the side of the mask and curved outward. He wore the Esepda uniform which consisted of a white coat tied with a black obi and white hakama. He turned from the window and stared at Naruto with apathetic eyes. "Uzumaki."

Used to the hollow's straightforward greetings the blond didn't miss a beat. "Ulquiorra," he returned the greeting with a slight nod of his head. He was the only member of the Espeda that had earned his respect so far (even if his attitude did grate on his nerves). "What did you call me down here for?"

The vasto lorde folded his hands behind his back. "Aizen-sama has a mission for you."

Naruto raised a curious brow and cocked his head slightly. "Oh?" It wasn't every day he got a mission. In fact, it was rarely ever he got one. Living in Hueco Mundo was a very mundane and boring life where the only thing he had to occupy his time was training.

The Esepda nodded mutely. "He want's you to go to the living world."

The blond haired shinigami's eyes widened in surprise. "The living world? What does he want me to do there?"

"He wants you to find a group of people–"

"And kill them?" Naruto ventured a guess.

Ulquiorra shook his head and his green eyes narrowed slightly in annoyance at being interrupted. "No. He wants you to join them."

Both of Naruto's eyebrows rose into his hairline. "Eh?! Why would I do that?"

The green-eyed hollow raised a single shoulder in a slight shrug. "He says that they will be able to help control the hollow inside you."

Naruto frowned thoughtfully. Whenever he had tried to draw out his hollow, the demonic reiatsu always came with it. If he could control both his demon reiatsu _and_ his hollow, he would probably be as strong as Aizen (even though he had no idea the full power of the shinigami). "Okay . . . So when do I leave?"

Ulquiorra shook his head slightly which meant to halt _immediately_. The last guy who continued to talk after Ulquiorra did this will never see again. "That's now all. He also wants you to find and watch a man named Urahara Kisuke after your vizard training. You will watch Urahara until Aizen-sama calls for you."

The shinigami ran a hand through his hair. It must have been a very serious mission if he would have to _live_ in the living world. "What's so important about this . . . _Kisuke_ guy and where will I be able to find him?"

"Urahara Kisuke is the former the taichou of Soul Societies twelfth division," Naruto scowled darkly at the mention of Soul Society, but Ulquiorra continued, "he invented an item that is _very_ important to Aizen-sama and hid it somewhere. He was exiled from Soul Society for the things he created for they are what Soul Society deems immoral. Aizen-sama wants you to find the location of the item and bring it to him. Urahara should be found somewhere in a place called Kurakura Town where he has opened a shop."

Naruto nodded mutely, trying to store all of this information away and into his memory. He wondered briefly what kind of man Kisuke was and the things he invented. If this Kisuke knew he was with Aizen, would he try to fight Naruto?

"Okay, _now_ do I leave?" Naruto practically whined.

The glare Ulquiorra sent him made him shut up immediately. You _did not_ want to piss Ulquiorra off. We're sure you know that by now though. "When you arrive at the locations the vizard are said to be at you should allow your reiatsu to leak out. _They_ will come to _you_."

Naruto waited impatiently and Ulquiorra nodded slightly. "_Now_, it is time for you to go."

Ulquiorra drew the zanpakutou hanging in his black obi and slashed the air. Immediately a rip formed in the air before it widened into an almond shape whole. The portal was dark and was edged with what appeared to be jagged teeth.

Naruto nodded toward the stoic hollow in goodbye before stepping into the portal of darkness.

**xXx**

When Naruto stepped out of the portal, he shivered. He would never get used to going through it. It was like stepping into eternal darkness where even though you're walking forward, it doesn't feel as if you've gone anywhere at all.

Naruto adjusted his white jacket to hide his ranking tattoo and looked around his surroundings. He knew at least that it was night, judging from the position from the half moon in the sky. It had been a while since he'd seen a real moon or even grass in general. In Hueco Mundo it was always nigh, the moon was always backwards, and everything was always dead.

Other than a field and the occasional tree, Naruto didn't see anything that would let him know exactly where he was.

Remembering the advice that Ulquiorra had given him, he let his reiatsu flow out intentionally. He didn't know if they would come right away or if he should begin to walk around to appear inconspicious. Before he could even contemplate it further, he felt a spirit of pretty impressive power coming toward him at fast speeds.

Not even a minute later there was a flash as the person released their shunpo and stopped before him. The person had a head of dusty blond hair that went down their neck while the fringe stopped above his brown eyes. His mouth quirked up into a toothy smirk that immediately reminded Naruto of Nnoitra for some odd reason. He wore a gray business type jacket with a black dress shirt; around his neck was a white tie.

"Yo," he greeted casually with a slight wave of his hand.

Naruto stared for a minute, unsure of how exactly to react. "Uh . . . yo."

"What are you doing way out here?" he asked, gesturing to the open plains.

"I was looking for someone," Naruto began cryptically, "a... group."

"Oh?" The other blond asked, running a hand through his hair idly.

Naruto was getting a little ticked off at his flippant personality but he immediately shoved it back down. "Yeah," he began coolly, trying to appear as nonchalant as the other blond, "you know any groups around here?"

"Maybe," he replied with such coolness that it pissed Naruto off somewhat. "What's your name kid?"

Dropping the act, Naruto let his irritation show. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto."

Finally losing a bit of his cool (which pleased Naruto for some odd reason) his eyes widened in shock. "W-what?! I've heard of you . . . "

Naruto raised an intrigued eyebrow. "Really?"

The man (or shinigami, but he didn't carry his sword) nodded. "Yeah, I'm Hirako Shinji. The unofficial leader of the group you're looking for . . . the vizards."

**xXx**

"_Hah . . . hah . . . _this sucks!"

Sweat dripped from his brow and down his chin as he continued to do the mundane exorcize. The pain in his legs was unbearable and he thought he would collapse from hunger. If he didn't, he was sure he would die from a mixture of dehydration and exhaustion.

Well, since he was a spirit, he doubted he could die from those things, but what he did know was that his reiatsu was steadily declining. And he could definitely die from series reiatsu depletion.

Naruto didn't know what he was thinking when he agreed to train with the vizards. So far they had asked him to run for as long as he could on the 'Super Hiyori Walker' and at first he thought it would be a piece of cake. He was wrong.

Not even an out into the training and be begin to notice how much reiatsu the machine took with each step and he didn't know how long he would last. So you could only guess how tired he was no that he had been running for who knows how long.

"Quit your wining, it's almost been seventy-two hours," a teenager with light gray hair said flippantly. He had several piercing in his ear in ear and eyebrows. He wore a tight black muscle shirt and brown cargo pants. On his hands he wore red leather gloves and on his feet were brown cargo boots.

"That's the . . . _hah_ . . . point! This . . . _hah_ . . . shit . . . _hah_ . . . SUCKS!" Naruto practically whined as he continued to 'train.'

"What did you say, baldy?!" a small girl with blond hair asked shaking her small fist threateningly. Her hair was tied into two spiky pigtails and she wore a red jogging outfit with white stripes on the sleeves. Underneath her jogging outfit she wore a plain white shirt and on her feet were sandals.

"He said your shitty walker sucks, Hiyori," Shinji replied blandly, idly picking his ear with his pinky.

Hiyori squawked in indignation and proceeded to beat Shinji into the ground with her sandal.

"Love, doesn't this remind you of that scene from 'When Pigs Fly and Take Over the World'?" a rather effeminate man with long, silky, and wavy blond hair asked. He wore a white frilly shirt with a black jacket over it.

"Haha ha, yeah, Rose!" Love, a tall man wearing blue sunglasses replied enthusiastically. His face was very rugged and on top of his head sat a black spiked afro. He wore a sea-green jumpsuit and in his hands was a volume of Shonen Jump. "It also reminds me of chapter fifteen of Shonen Jump's newest manga, 'Some Stuff Just Shouldn't Be Said'."

"Hey, hasn't it been _way _more than seventy-two hours by now?" Mashiro, a girl with bright green hair, asked tipping her head slightly. She wore a white body suite with orange boots, gloves, and scarf around her neck. On top of her head sat a pair of goggles.

"Lisa, weren't you supposed to watch the clock?" the gray-haired boy, Muguruma Kensei, asked seriously.

"I am watching it so shut up and go away," Lisa, a girl with glasses and long braided raven hair replied distractedly. She was dressed in a sailor outfit and in her lap sat a book that is too dirty to describe.

"No, you're not!" Hiyori cried, looking up from the twitching Shinji. She pointed her sandal at the oblivious Lisa threateningly. "The only thing you were watching is porn!"

"GAH!"

Everyone turned at the sound to see Naruto had fainted on the walker and was now sprawled in a _very _uncomfortable position.

"...Is he dead?" Hachigen asked hesitantly. He was the largest vizard and was very round and plump. He had a hair of bright pink hair (and mustache) and he wore a spiffy black tuxedo.

Hiyori walked over and poked Naruto with her sandal. "Mm...nope! He's still breathing."

"Told you that shitty thing was a death trap," Shinji muttered to a nodding Mashiro.

Hiyori's response was a thrown sandal to the face.

**xXx**

After Naruto recovered from the traumatic experience of using the walker, Shinji and Naruto headed out of the vizard secret hideout (which turned out to be an abandoned farm that Hachihid byusing a spell) and into the open fields to train.

"Okay, now that we've seen that you can last three days on the Shitty Hiyori Walker(somewhere in the distance, Hiyori screamed out, "_SUPER_ Hiyori Walker!") its time for the second part of your training."

"And that is . . . ?" Naruto asked hesitantly. He didn't know if he could handle another traumatic experience by doing something that seemed relatively simple.

"To train your body so that it adjusts well to using the hollow mask and channeling the reiatsu through it. For you, the training will be a little different . . . When you use your hollow mask, your demon blood also comes into play."

"Okay." Naruto paused as something occurred to him. "How did you know that . . . ?**"**

Shinji grinned and Naruto felt a slight shiver go up his spine. "Oh, I know a lot of things . . . "

Naruto didn't know how to feel about this particular piece of information. It seemed that the vizards were a lot more well informed than he had originally thought. And by the expression on Shinji's face (that 'I-know-something-you-don't-nyah!' face) the young vizard wondered what else the vizard knew about him. He decided to be _very_ wary of these vizards.

"So, to train your body, you will need this." Shinji reached into his pocket and pulled out a small wristband. "This is a spirit band, and it's one of the most important training tools for a vizard."

Naruto stared at the small blue wristband skeptically. "So what does it do?"

Shinji walked over. "Hold out your arm." Naruto did as he was told and watched apprehensively as the older vizard put the band around his wrist. As soon as the wristband touched his skin it began to glow blue before a string launched from the band and connected to his other wrist. The two lines connected at his wrist then went down and connected to his ankles. Before Naruto could even let out a cry of surprise he felt the weight of his limbs increase and he fell to the ground in a heap.

"What the hell is this shit?!" Naruto asked, spitting out clumps of grass and dirt that had invaded his mouth from the unexpected fall.

Shinji looked amused. "I told you they are spirit bands. Think of them as . . . portable spiritual pressure. The band exerts a pressure on your body as if you were in the presence of a very powerful spirit. I guess you could say that it's like being in the presence of a hollow all the time which will allow you to remain at full power when you use your mask without losing power."

He paused to let the information sink into his head. "For the first part of your training, you will have to exert your own reiatsu to counteract the bands. After you have that down you will have to walk all the way back to the base."

"WHAT?!" Naruto cried in outrage. "But we're so far away! You bastard, _that's_ why we left the base to train?!"

Shinji chuckled and grinned his toothy grin. "Yeap. See you at the base." Before Naruto could even protest, he shunpo away.

Naruto sat there, curses spilling from his mouth so foul that even Hiyori would take notes.

He tried to move his arms or legs and found that they didn't budge an inch; also it seemed that even _trying_ to move took a large amount of energy. He guessed he knew why they wanted to see how long he lasted on the walker. It was some kind of test to see how much energy they put into the bands.

Naruto thought back to what Shinji said about using his own reiatsu to counteract the reiatsu in the band. The blond dug inside himself and grabbed the little reiatsu he could. It seemed as if the bands put a restraint on his reiatsu as well. With enormous effort he was able to move the reiatsu into his arms. His finger twitched.

"SUCCESS!"

**xXx**

Every day for the next month Naruto would train until he collapsed from exhaustion. Every time he woke up he would find a bento full of food to eat. He didn't know who made it exactly but he had a feeling it was Mashiro.

It was very boring and tedious so he would occupy his time by trying to find different ways to do the training exorcize. Even when it rained he wouldn't rest and would find different ways to train. He was quite happy that spirit clothes reformed and cleaned using the user's reiatsu every time it was in need of repair.

Naruto had been making great progress since his finger twitched and by now he could use both of his arms freely. He had tried to use his arms to push himself up but he found it even harder to push reiatsu into different parts of his body at once so he had begun doing pushups with the bands on and found that it seemed to allow more reiatsu to flow through his body.

A week and a half into the training Naruto had found a breakthrough with using his reiatsu. He had pushed reiatsu into each of his fingers and then used that same principal to push the energy into his legs and arms. With great effort he had managed to lift himself off the ground and into a crawling position.

He knew he could _crawl_ all the way back to the vizard base but that wouldn't be the point of the training (not to mention it would be embarrassing and degrading). So after learning to crawl, Naruto felt it was time to learn to walk.

It was weird at first, because he had to push reiatsu into each of his joints if he wanted them to bend and move how he wanted. After a few days he could drag his feet through the grass for a couple minutes before he needed to rest.

At the end of the month Naruto could walk at a slow pace but he had finally made it to the base. Outside of the hiding seal stood Shinji with a bored look on his face. "Ah, took you long enough to get here."

Naruto could only laugh and faint from pushing himself far too hard.

Shinji walked over to the downed Naruto and lifted him over his shoulder. "When his training is complete, he will probably be able to challenge Aizen himself." He sighed and shook his head. "I sure hope that man knows what he's doing . . . "

**xXx**

"Come on Naruto, you can do better than that!"

Naruto ducked under the swipe of the sword and planted his fist firmly in their unguarded gut. They wheezed as all the air was forcibly taken from their lungs and Naruto spun around to deliver a roundhouse kick to their face. The kick lifted them off the ground and they collided roughly with the barn wall before falling to the ground

Kensei's back collided roughly with the barn wall and he fell to the ground in a heap. Hachi immediately rushed over to heal the wounded vizard.

Naruto turned toward a watching Shinji.

The blond had just removed his spirit bands after having them on for two months. After he had arrived in the barn and he could move himself around with difficulty he began the next phase of his training.

Every day he would do a workout that consisted of: pushups, sit ups, crunches, and a lot of other physical activity. It was very grueling at first because the bands used up so much of his reiatsu but he needed a strong supply otherwise when he used his mask he would be drained very easily.

After a workout, he would spar with one of the many vizards for hours on end, getting used to the bands.

After removing them and fighting with a full powered vizard, he could tell that it had really come in handy.

"It's time," Shinji said seriously.

Naruto raised a confused eyebrow. "Time?"

"Yes. It's time for you to learn to control your hollow."

The blond shinigami had to refrain from whooping in joy. Even though he _had_ changed overtime and wasn't nearly as immature, he still couldn't resist the excitement that came with learning something new. "How do I do it?"

"You have to fight it."

"...And _how _do I fight it . . . ?"

Naruto let out a gasp of surprise when Shinji was right in his face, his palm resting against his forehead. Before he could even question the vizard leader of what he was doing he felt the world beginning to fade.

"Just eat _it_ . . . before _it _eats _you_ . . . "

**xXx**

When Naruto opened his eyes, he found he was in his inner world of red mountain tops. He looked around in confusion, wondering what was going on.

"Yo."

Naruto turned around and choked on the air in his throat. Standing in front of him was an exact duplicate of him. Except this duplicate had red eyes, red hair, and wore all red clothes. Swinging idly behind him were nine long tails.

The clone gave a fang showing smirk. "Long time no see . . . "

Fear and shock made Naruto's heart skip a beat. He knew only of one being that had that much red and nine tails. "K-kyuubi . . . ?!"

"Heh, in the flesh . . . or should I say . . . _spirit_?"


	7. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach or Naruto.

A/N: Welcome back to another chapter of The Rising Falcon!

I know this chapter is pretty short, but I'm trying to cut down on the chapter legnths to 3000-4000 words a chapter. I want to be able to update quicker and I'm sure you all would like that.

I'm kind of dissapointed in this chapter because this is like, one of the _first_ major fight scenes I have ever written. Then I got lazy...and impatient...So, sorry if it sucks and you hate it.

I've been _very_ tired lately and just don't feel like writing all the time. I've had a bit of writers block and I'm trying to get past that. Writers block is not fun!

Also, I've decided that this will be a Naruto x Yoruichi because it has the most votes. The romance won't come for a while so you will have to wait for it, sorry!

I also want to thank everyone for reading and reviewing! That makes me happy to see all the responses this story gets and definitely makes for good insperation to write.

Uhm...I think thats all I wanted to say. So without further ado, the next chapter:

**xXx**

Chapter 5:

Mind Games

**xXx**

"K-kyuubi . . . ?!" Naruto gasped, the words somehow managing to escape through his constricted throat.

Fear forced his heart into his throat and adrenaline began to pump through his blood. Thoughts ran rampant in his head and jumbled themselves into a big pile of confusion. His brain was momentarily shut down from the absolute _impossibility_ that the Kyuubi no Kitsune was alive — and still somehow trapped in his body no less.

The Kyuubi smirked and inspected its clawed hands apathetically. "Heh, in the flesh . . ." The king of demons looked up suddenly and pinned Naruto with its red-eyed stare, its face twisting in hate and anger. "Or should I say . . . _spirit_?"

Naruto choked on the lump in his throat, the killing intent practically _oozing _from the demon freezing his limbs momentarily. Looking at the Kyuubi's face – or rather, _Naruto's_ face – another emotion broke through the haze of his fear and announced itself rather loudly. Anger. "What the _fuck_ do _you_ have to be angry about?!" Naruto snarled.

The Kyuubi looked somewhat shocked by the outburst. Its red eyes widened and the smirk dropped from his face as Naruto continued his angry rant. Years of pent up emotions that Naruto had thought laid dormant began to surface — maybe even stronger than before.

Reacting to his emotions, his inner world was in turmoil. The clouds up above grayed and began to move through the sky at a face pace. Wind began to howl as it blew through the mountain top and ruffled the two figure's clothes and hair.

"This is all your fault!" Naruto cried, pointing an accusing finger at the silent demon. He shook his head angrily and pointed the finger back at himself. "_I'm_ the one who should be angry! You ruined my life!"

The kitsune looked less than impressed with the display of anger. "Are you done? Whining like a little bitch . . . It's pathetic really."

Naruto made a choking noise in the back of his noise in disbelief. "What are you doing here?! Where is Ryuukitaka?!"

The Kyuubi drew his sword which looked like an exact replica's of Naruto's except the blade was stained red. Naruto's eyes practically bugged out of his head as he caught site of the demonically warped sword. He opened his mouth to demand answers when he was cut off. "Fight me," the Kyuubi said simply, taking its eyes from inspecting the sword to regard Naruto. "If you win, I'll answer any and all of your questions. But if you lose . . ." The demon paused and an amused grin stretched its lips, "_I _gain control of this body and you will be forced to remain imprisoned here like I was all these years."

To put it simply, Naruto was shocked. He knew it was a rather unfair deal but questions plagued his mind that he was _dying_ to know the answer to. How was the Kyuubi still alive? How was he in his spiritual world? Where was his zanpakutou spirit?

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he drew his own zanpakutou. "Screw that . . . I'll just beat the answers out of you then kill you."

The kitsune shrugged carelessly. "Either way, if you lose, this body is _mine_."

Sliding into a sword stance, Naruto sneered. "Not if I can help it!"

There was a tense silence as both fighters locked eyes, the entire world quitting down from the raging storm that it had been once before. Everything was quiet except for the gentle exhale of Naruto's breathing and the slight whisper in the wind.

Even though it was rather cool, sweat began to form on Naruto's brow before sliding down his chin and onto the dry rock below.

As if some sort of signal had passed, the two fighters both began to move. They both launched from the ground at the same time and connected their swords. Sparks flew and the metallic clang of two swords echoed through the mountain tops. Naruto tightened his hold on his sword as he stared into the amused blood-red eyes of the Kyuubi.

Naruto jumped back, coming at the Kyuubi with a horizontal sword slash. The demon blocked the attack and retaliated with a roundhouse kick. The blond shinigami dodged under the kick effortlessly but was unprepared for the tail that struck him under the chin in an uppercut.

He cried out in surprise, his head jerking backwards from the surprise attack. Before he had time to even regain his bearings, the Kyuubi was preparing for its next strike. The demon tried to strike at his mid-section, but Naruto recovered just in time.

His blade connected with the Kyuubi's and locked in a power struggle. The kitsune phasedout of existence suddenly causing Naruto to stumble forward awkwardly. He looked around warily, all his senses strained to the highest level to catch a glimpse of his opponent. Not finding anything out of the ordinary he closed his eyes and listened.

The wind carried the sound of everything and Naruto understood the message trapped in the breeze. Above him, the sound of something ripping through the air reached him and he tensed his muscles in preparation. It dove down and Naruto spun around just in time to block a thrust from the Kyuubi's sword with the flat of his blade.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in anger and confusion. Before he could retaliate however, the kitsune used its tail to send Naruto stumbling back and scored a glancing blow to his abdomen. Blood spurted from the wound and Naruto bit back a cry of pain as he gripped the wound.

"That was my Falcon Strike . . . How did you do it?" Naruto demanded, his voice coming out more breathy than he liked.

The nine-tails grinned its wicked grin and winked. "Ah – ah – ah," it admonished playfully with a wag of its index finger. "Remember our deal? You win and I'll answer your questions."

"If that's the case, I guess I'll have to get serious," Naruto said, pointing his sword toward the amused fox.

Said fox grinned and mirrored Naruto's sword stance. "Is that so?"

Without saying an incantation, Naruto and Kyuubi both pointed their swords into the air at the same time. As if answering their silent call, the clouds above parted slowly. The sky darkened to tint of green and red before two bird calls could be heard, piercing through silence of the spiritual world. To birds – one a shimmering green and the other a flaming red – dropped from the sky, curling around each other in a spiraling dance as they raced toward the ground. The red bird landed on the Kyuubi's shoulder while the green landed on Naruto's.

Naruto and Kyuubi's eyes clashed, one a sparkling violet filled of determination and the other a blood-red full of sadistic amusement. "Link," both Naruto and Kyuubi said together. They both sliced their sword downward and flicked their wrist, changing the angle of their sword into another stance.

The two birds exploded in a flurry of red and green light before wrapping around their respected owner. Red fire twirled around the Kyuubi lazily while green wind ruffled Naruto in a gentle caress.

Without warning, the two exploded forward, their swords colliding with explosive force that sent tremendous shockwaves through the spirit area. The rocks demolished under their feet and yet they fought on. They drew back, circling each other momentarily before they collided again with the same force as before. Over and over again their swords clashed in an amazing display of power. With each strike, the mountain they fought on was demolished more and more until both fighters were jumping from rock to rock, all the while connecting swords in mid air.

Naruto landed on a falling rock in a crouch, the Kyuubi on another rock above him. The green wind surrounding Naruto twirled around him like a typhoon before exploding outward, revealing that he was gone.

The Kyuubi's eyes narrowed. It definitely knew that attack but couldn't possibly use it to the same level as the master. His lips curled upward slightly in a grin. But that didn't mean he didn't know how to stop it.

Naruto reappeared in the air above the Kyuubi's head, his body positioned downward with his sword ready to pierce. His wind reiatsu gathered at his feet before launching him off of seemingly nothing and toward the Kyuubi who had finally noticed his position.

Instead of piercing through the Kyuubi's face like he had hoped, the king of demons was able to stop the charge with the flat of his sword. Before Naruto could even move backwards, tails wrapped around his sword, arms, and legs. His eyes widened as he saw the sadistic grin on the Kyuubi's face and he began to struggle helplessly.

The flames around the demon flared suddenly and it began to spin around its feet dangerously. Without warning, it erupted outward, connecting with Naruto's pinned body. The Kyuubi's tailed disengaged from Naruto's body and the shinigami was thrown backwards. He rushed toward the ground of his spirit world rapidly — if it even had one — the wind roaring in his ears as he tried to recover from the fire attack.

His shirt laid in tatters around his upper body and the only thing intact were his charred hakama.

"BANKAI!"

Naruto's body was enveloped in a cocoon of green winds, the only thing visible inside the outline of his glowing body. The cocoon exploded outward, revealing a slightly transformed Naruto. On his back were a pair of glowing green wings and in the place of his sword was a green spear.

He flapped his wings once and his descent slowed, he flapped them two more times and he began to rise quickly. One more flap and he was rocketing toward the sky in a blur of green.

The Kyuubi watched the fast rising blur with a twisted grin. It raised its own sword. "BANKAI!"

There was a giant red explosion as the Kyuubi dove downward toward Naruto in a red blur of his own. The haze surrounding the two fighters shifted and changed before finally settling in the form of mighty falcons.

The two falcons collided with amazing force and there was a grand explosion as the two energies collided.

**xXx**

"Where is Ryuukitaka?" Naruto asked, pointing his blade toward the wounded Kyuubi's throat.

Their eyes locked and a flicker of defiance appeared in the demons red-eyed gaze. "...I killed her . . . "

Naruto's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open in shock. He had to grip his sword handle tighter to make sure it didn't slip from his grasp. "WH—WHAT?!"

The Kyuubi's lips twitched and an odd sound escaped it before a laugh erupted from its throat. "Haha ha haha! You should have seen your face—"

"Quit screwing around you dumb fox!" Naruto snapped and pressed the blade edge closer to the laughing demon's vulnerable neck. The laughter stopped immediately although there were a few odd giggling sounds.

"I'll ask once again," Naruto began, his voice conveying patience that he certainly didn't have. "_Where_ is Ryuukitaka?"

"To put it simply—me and Ryuukitaka are the same," the Kyuubi said, it's voice deadly serious.

Naruto cocked a blond eyebrow in confusion. "Eh?"

Sighing and rolling its red eyes, the Kyuubi spoke, "It's like when you use your mask . . . " It paused and hummed thoughtfully. "Although it's still you, I'm the one in control. That's how me and the slutty feather girl work—" Here Naruto bristled and pressed the cold steel slightly closer "—We are both your spiritual energy though only one of us can be in control at a time."

Naruto eased up the pressure of his blade and nodded. "I guess that makes sense . . . " He paused as he considered another question to ask the demon. "Why do you want me body?"

The Kyuubi looked as if the answer was obvious. "To kill the man who imprisoned me here, of course!"

"The fourth?" Naruto asked, tilting his head slightly. "But he's already dead . . . "

"No, not the fourth," the Kyuubi snarled. "Although," it added in a wistful tone, "if I could I would kill him too." The demon seemed loss in a probably violent fantasy concerning the fourth before it snapped back to reality. "I mean the one who summoned be from hell!"

"Eh?!" Naruto cried in shock. He couldn't believe his ears! "You were summoned from hell?! So—who summoned you?"

Looking directly into his eyes, the Kyuubi spoke, "Sousuke Aizen."

"WHAT?! Y–you're lying! I don't believe you!" Naruto felt a headache coming on and he guessed it was the stress of all that had been happening to him.

Kyuubi sneered nastily. "Why would I lie?! That bastard wants to be a god and he would have to rule hell itself to do it. What better way to become the ruler of hell than to get rid of the only protection it has . . . "

By now Naruto's head was throbbing, but he still managed to ignore it and focus on the Kyuubi's words. "I don't understand . . . "

"The nine-tailed demons," The Kyuubi stated simply. Seeing Naruto's blank look it continued, "We were all once the guards of hell . . . but Sousuke Aizen summoned us to earth."

"How could he do something like that?! It's impossible!" The headache was pounding in the back of Naruto's head with the force of a battering ram and Naruto found it almost impossible to listen to anything the Kyuubi had to say.

"Open your God damn eyes!" The demon snarled. " Didn't you ever see how he used his zanpakutou?! It hypnotizes the victim to believe whatever he wants them to—"

"SHUT UP!" Naruto cried, holding his head in his hands as the pain behind his eyes intensified. It felt as if a beast was inside his head just clawing to get out. "Just—_shut_ _up_!"

'_He's lying_,' a voice in his head whispered. The voice was calm and cool and reminded Naruto of Aizen. _'He just wants to hurt you. He wants you to doubt and suspect so that he can ruin your life.'_

Naruto looked up at Kyuubi who had remained oddly silent with a scowl on his face. "_Liar_," he whispered fiercely. "Aizen would never do anything like that. You're just trying to screw with my mind."

"Have you forgotten about the hollows?" The Kyuubi inquired calmly. "How he can summon—"

"_SHUT—UP_! I told you to _shut the fuck up_!"

"Don't you see? He's already controlling you with his zanpakutou."

"I'm warning you," Naruto growled threateningly. "Say one more thing—and I _swear_ _I'll kill you_."

The Kyuubi just sighed and shook his head sadly, but wisely kept quiet. The once guardian of hell watched silently as Naruto shot him one more look of hatred and disgust before leaving his spirit world.

Not a moment later, his other half, Ryuukitaka appeared. "How did it go?" she asked, although by the grave look on her face she already knew.

Kyuubi sighed and shook his head. "He's to stubborn. The facts kicked him in the face and he _still_ ignored them.

Ryuukitaka bit her lip and surveyed the damage done to the world. "Well—the least we can hope is that we sowed the seed of doubt."

"Whatever," the Kyuubi shrugged. "I don't care if he believes it or not."

**xXx**

The first thing Naruto noticed when he returned from going into his spirit world was that he had a hollow mask on his face. He took the mask off his face and stared at it. It was that of a sneering fox with its teeth bared and purple markings for whiskers.

The conversation with the Kyuubi returned to his mind and Naruto wanted to smash the mask under his boot in rage. He felt no satisfaction with defeating the Kyuubi like he had always dreamed of doing, because by doing it, what did he gain?

Sure, it released some of his frustrations, but in the end, he was no different than he was an hour ago. The things he lost to the Kyuubi weren't coming back, no matter whose ass he kicked. If the world worked like that Naruto was sure that all of Konoha would have been walking around with crutches for treating him how he did.

Naruto had always had his suspicions of Aizen but he had always shoved them aside ruthlessly. He thought of the man as his father—the only thing he had that he could call family. It wouldn't do to go around spouting false accusations for any reason when Aizen didn't do it to him. Aizen didn't suspect Naruto of turning crazy and killing everyone, so Naruto would give him the same benefit of the doubt.

But still, he couldn't help but wonder on some of the things the Kyuubi had said. He had been the _guardian_ of hell. Naruto had never known that. And if so, Naruto wondered what the nine-tailed demons was guarding.

Another thing that no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't shake off this little nagging suspicion in the back of his mind. He _knew_ that the Kyuubi could have been sprouting nonsense to confuse him, and he wouldn't put it past it.

Yet, the possibility of being under hypnosis still lingered. He had always wondered how Aizen could have _possibly_ become the ruler over the hollows. He had always thought that most hollow were incapable of thinking anything other than killing and to have them suddenly obey was rather hard to believe.

Could that be how Aizen became ruler of Hueco Mundo? By going into hell itself and snatching something that made him the ruler right under the Kyuubi's nose?

Naruto noticed where his thoughts were headed and forced them away savagely.

No matter how hard he tried to deny it, the statement still drifted through his brain.

Could Aizen really be the one who summoned the Kyuubi to earth?

**xXx**

Halloween Omake:

Trick or Treating for shinigami 101

**xXx**

"What do you mean you've never heard of Halloween?!" Ichigo Kurosaki cried in shock.

Rukia Kuchiki and Uzumaki Naruto both stared blankly at each other before they turned toward the orange head and shrugged. "In Soul Society, there is no such thing as 'Halloween'."

Ichigo looked as if he would keel over any second. "Well then we've got to celebrate it while you're here!"

Rukia just grinned, happy to celebrate a new holiday while Naruto looked skeptical. "What do people do on this holiday."

"Why, trick or treat, of course!" Ichigo said as if it were obvious.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "And what is this '_trick or treat_'?"

"Oh, its when you look scary, go to people's houses, knock on their door and say 'trick or treat' then they give you candy," Ichigo said with a finger raised in the air as if he were a teacher.

Rukia was by now bouncing up and down in excitement while Naruto looked mildly interested. "Well what are we waiting for!" Rukia cried, grabbing Naruto's arm and leading him to a random house. Ichigo stood behind, blinking in slight shock before he ran to catch up, sure that the two shinigami would do something stupid.

Rukia knocked on the door and waited eagerly for the door to open. When it did, it was a sweet old lady with a bag of candy in her hand. "Trick or treat!" Rukia practically shrieked at the top of her lungs.

The old lady smiled pleasantly. "Why, what are you two supposed to be?"

Naruto smirked and pushed Rukia aside arrogantly. "Let me handle this." His eyes turned red and killing intent began to focus on the paralyzed old lady. "I'm a shinigami, hear to reap your immortal soul if you don't _give me that fucking candy_!"

The old lady screamed in terror before dropping the candy and slamming the door in the two shinigami's faces. "Sweet!" Naruto and Rukia cried as they picked up the bag and began to eat the sweets.

Ichigo stood back, staring at Naruto in stunned silence. "What the hell did you do that for?!" Ichigo yelled finally.

Naruto looked up from eating the candy and raised an eyebrow. "Do what?"

"You know! Why did you go all psycho-demon-shinigami on that old lady?!"

Naruto shrugged. "Well, you said I had to be scary. And besides, it worked. Look at all the candy!"

Ichigo ran a hand down his face and sighed. Why did shinigami always have to take things so seriously?


	8. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or Bleach.

A/N: ZOMFG! Its an update...and not just an interlude or AN, but an actualy chapter! ZOMGWTFBBQ! .;

Anywayz, the first part of this chapter was so friggin FUN to write! But then, I kinda lost intrest, but I pushed through! So if like the second half of the story sucks... blame my muse! points to muse who flips me off My muse is bipolar. T.T

Also, this chapter may raise alot of questions. But don't worry, they will all be answered! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Hmm...as you may have ALSO noticed, I decided not to rewrite...maybe after the story has almost more words. But not quite yet. And if the characters seem OOC, I'm sorry. 

Without further ado, the next chapter of The Rising Falcon!

Don't forget to R&R! (Not rest and relax, foo! Read and review.) :D

* * *

Kurosaki Ichigo sat at his small desk, his head resting on the arm propped on his desk. His eyes were directed toward the uncovered large window, yet Ichigo saw not the cloudy blue sky or the trees that littered the schoolyard below.

He saw the hollow that Rukia and he had fought not to long ago and thought about the words she had spoken after its masked had cracked, revealing that underneath the white porcelain was Orihime's brother.

Hollows were once normal human souls that had been corrupted and mutated into something dark and evil. Although there were instances when the soul was already twisted, more often then not they were normal people who were transformed and unable to control themselves.

Ichigo didn't know why, but that revelation seemed to bring what shinigami did into a whole new light. And from his angle, that light didn't make it look very favorable.

Every time he thought back to when he destroyed a hollow, he thought about what they were like when they were humans --- about their parents, if they had siblings, a lover, or maybe they had kids --- and his stomach pooled with unimaginable guilt.

Before he knew what hollows were, he had felt thrills of excitement hunting them. Almost as if it were a game.

But now that he knew… it seemed so much crueler. He should have known that the world wasn't always black and white. That things weren't as simple as good and evil. He knew it from personal experience.

Ever since that nights, Ichigo had dreams --- no, nightmares --- of what he would do if someone in his family turned into a hollow. Sometimes, he would fight them in a fierce battle, and as he struck the last blow, their mask would fall off, and they would look at him in so much hurt and betrayal…

Then there was the ones where he did nothing. He allowed them to ransack the town, letting them eat all the souls in Karakura and even sometimes going as far as to get souls for them. In that dream he would see the souls of all his friends, all accusing him of letting them be killed.

Ichigo didn't know which dreams frightened him more, but during either one, he would wake up, his sheets drenched in sweat and sometimes his reiatsu flowing wildly around the room depending on how detailed the dream was. On those nights, Rukia would wake up and demand to know what was wrong. He would tell her a nightmare, but would elaborate no further. More often then not, she went back into the closet with either annoyed or concerned looks on her face.

He was broken from his thoughts when he sensed something coming through the air towards him. He leaned his head to the side casually and a chalkboard eraser sailed harmlessly over his shoulder.

At the front of the classroom stood his teacher, Orochi-san, an annoyed look on her bespectacled face. "Ichigo," she huffed, "show some respect! Can't you see we have a new student?"

Ichigo looked over and indeed there was a boy he had never seen before staring directly at him. Becoming annoyed at the prolonged staring, Ichigo scowled, hoping to intimidate the boy into looking away.

The stranger did, and this time their gaze settled on Rukia who was sitting next to him. The stranger regarded her for a moment before returning his gaze back to Ichigo, a strange glint in his eyes that sent a chill down Ichigo's spine.

"Class," Orochi-san began once she noticed she had everyone's attention, "we have a new student joining us here today. It seems he's moved here from very far away so we should do our best to make him feel welcome."

She turned toward the new kid, a kind smile on her face. "Why don't you introduce yourself to the class and tell us a little about yourself?"

He stepped forward, a grin on his face that reminded Ichigo immediately of a fox. "Yo," he greeted casually, "my name is Uzumaki Naruto---"

Beside him, Rukia gasped. Ichigo turned toward her and noticed that her eyes were round and he hands shook slightly.

He leaned over, immediately disregarding the stranger called Naruto to whisper to Rukia. "Hey, what's wrong?"

She didn't respond at first, her eyes fixed steadily on the new kid. When she did, her voice was lower than a whisper and Ichigo had to strain his ears to hear. "U-Uzumaki N-Naruto… But that's impossible…"

"What?" Ichigo hissed, becoming increasingly alarmed by Rukia's strange reaction. "What's impossible?!"

"Him! He's supposed to be dead! But since he was already dead, I guess that means he should be alive, but that's impossible because the dead can't be alive---"

"Rukia!" Ichigo interjected, causing Rukia to stop babbling and finally look at him. "What are you talking about?! You weren't making any sense!"

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. And when she opened them, Ichigo could tell that she had finally gotten herself under control.

At the front of the class, Naruto had apparently finished his speech because Orochi-san was looking around the classroom for an empty desk.

She hummed thoughtfully before her eyes landed on the only empty desk in the classroom, which was unfortunately two rows behind Rukia.

Naruto began to walk between the rows toward his seat, and as he drew closer, Ichigo could see Rukia stiffening in her seat. Seeing them watching him as he passed, Naruto merely closed his eyes and smiled before taking his seat behind them.

Ichigo turned his attention back towards Rukia who was visibly sagging in relief. He couldn't understand what had Rukia so nervous.

When she regained her composure, she looked around the classroom, making sure no one was watching, before leaning in and whispering. "I-I know this may sound weird, but there was once a boy named Uzumaki Naruto in Soul Society decades ago. They said he was prodigy, one of the most promising Shinigami in over one-hundred years! He moved through the ranks quickly and became one of the youngest fukutaichou in history… But…"

She stopped, and began to look anxious again.

"But…?" Ichigo pressed.

Rukia sighed. "But… one day, something happened… Something real serious."

"What?" Ichigo asked, becoming more absorbed in the story than he would like to admit.

She looked down at her desk and frowned. "I don't know all the details, it was kind of hush-hush, but still everyone knew about it. Apparently, not only was Uzumaki Naruto half demon… he was also a vizard."

Ichigo whispered, "A vizard?"

"Yeah," she said quietly. "A vizard is someone who has a hollow inside of them. Not only were vizard one of the things Shinigami feared most, demons were considered on the same level as hollows, maybe even more dangerous. And for him to be both at the same time…"

Ichigo nodded. For him to have been both… It would have seemed as if he were less human and more of a monster, something to be feared and hated. "So what happened to him?"

"He was executed," Rukia said simply.

"Just like that?" Ichigo asked, shocked.

"Just like that," Rukia confirmed.

"Well," Ichigo began quietly, "if he was executed, why did you react like that…?"

"I… I've seen Uzumaki Naruto once…"

"Don't tell me…"

"Yes… They look almost exactly the same… Well…except for a few key differences. For one, although the Soul Society Uzumaki had blond hair, it was streaked with red and black. Also he had whisker-like scars on his faces, and his eyes were a violet color…like mine."

Ichigo looked behind him at the Uzumaki in their classroom. For one, his hair was solid blond with no streaks in sight. His face was flawless, no sign that it had ever even been injured, much less scared. And his eyes, they were a solid crystal blue. Before Ichigo turned back to Rukia, he could almost swear he saw Naruto's ears twitch.

"Before you say anything," Rukia began before Ichigo opened his mouth, "I know that they look different, but I've thought of a reason for that."

Seeing Ichigo's expectant look, she began, "Well, although it is a rumor… they say that after a soul dies, it doesn't just fade away or go to the real heaven where everyone is happy. They say that the soul is reincarnated, and in some instances the reincarnation even has the same name."

Behind them, Naruto began to laugh uproariously. Everyone in class turned to look at him but he kept on laughing, almost falling out of his desk he was laughing so hard. When he finally calmed down he wiped tears of mirth from his eyes.

"Well, Uzumaki?" Orochi asked from the front of the class, a twitch in her eye. "Maybe you would like to enlighten us as to what is so funny."

"Sorry, sorry," Naruto said, amused chuckles still escaping him periodically. "I just remembered this really funny joke."

Orochi sniffed. "Well, next time… do try to contain yourself." She turned back around and began writing on the chalkboard.

Ichigo looked at Naruto, and Naruto looked at him and grinned as if they were sharing a silent inside joke. With the grin still in place, Naruto pulled out a pencil and paper to begin copying down the notes on the board.

Turning to Rukia, Ichigo raised an eyebrow. She just shrugged, appearing to be as confused as she was.

**xXx**

Naruto continued to fake as if he were taking noted, and the grin wouldn't leave his face as he remembered the whispered conversation he had heard using his sharpened senses. Although he was in a gigai, Naruto found that his senses such as smell and sight worked just as well.

Him…A reincarnation! It was just too funny and too freaking perfect that he just had to laugh!

He knew that he was taking a risk with his whole 'pose as a student' scheme, and he knew it would be made even riskier if Rukia recognized him and maybe contacted Soul Society. But when she had guessed that he was a reincarnation…!

He had to stop his train of though before he began laughing again.

His plan was going perfectly.

**xXx**

The bell for lunch rang and immediately the other students began to rush out of the door, ignoring what Orochi-san was telling them their homework assignment was. Ichigo took his time, resting again the wall outside the classroom door as Rukia was dragged away by Tatsuki and Orihime to talk about who knows what.

"Yo."

Ichigo looked up, and was surprised to find the new student Naruto in front of him.

"As you may have already guessed," Naruto began, a smile on his face, "I don't have any friends at this school, and I'd rather not sit by myself at lunch. Besides, it'll be much easier to just follow you around since we have the same schedule."

Ichigo narrowed his eyes. "How do you know we have the same schedule?"

Naruto cocked his head to the side and closed his eyes, his smile morphing into a grin. Before he responded however Orihime, Tatsuki, and Rukia walked out of the classroom, all holding their lunches.

"Oh, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime greeted, catching sight of him. "I hope you don't mind, but me and Tatsuki decided to join you for lunch today."

Her gaze drifted sideways and lit up when she caught sight of Naruto. "Oh, Naruto-san! How rude of me! I'm Inoue Orihime, that's Arisawa Tatsuki, seems like you already know Kurosaki-kun, and finally, this is--"

"Kuchiki Rukia," Naruto said.

Orihime blinked. "Oh," she said, looking between the two, "do you know each other?"

Ichigo and Rukia exchanged looks.

Naruto smiled and shook his head. He pointed a finger to the pink bunny lunchbox held in Rukia's hand. On the front in black marker was "Kuchiki Rukia".

"I just read the name off her lunchbox."

**xXx**

Ichigo sat on top of the school rooftop, their usual place to each lunch and just hang out. The sky was partly cloudy, occasionally covering the rooftop in cool shade.

Ichigo took a sip from his juice cartoon and watched Uzumaki Naruto with a small degree of distrust.

He didn't know what it was about the blond-haired boy, but something about him tickled the back of his senses. He didn't know what it was exactly, but it reminded him of the feeling he got when he was around hollows…yet different… That feeling that the air was heavy with something unnatural…

But with Naruto, it was faint. Not enough to be noticeable, but enough to be so unnoticeably noticeable, that it drove you crazy.

Apparently he was the only one who felt it, for everyone else had accepted him into the group with open arms. Even Rukia seemed to be relaxing and laughing as Naruto told a story that involved lots of hand movements and facial expressions.

Naruto looked up and caught his eye, and that glint appeared again. That glint sent a chill down his spine and caused the feeling he sensed to sharpen. Naruto looked away, and like a fly that had been previously buzzing in his ear, it was gone.

**xXx**

As the final bell for school rang, Ichigo released a silent breath of relief, glad to finally get out of class and go home.

Without even waving goodbye to his friends, Ichigo gathered his things and began walking home.

Rukia caught up to him several moments later, her breath coming out shortly, indicating that she had run to catch up.

"Jeeze, Ichigo, slow down! What's the rush?"

Ichigo turned around so suddenly she squeaked in surprise. "Doesn't Naruto seem…weird to you?"

Rukia frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

"I mean --- doesn't he just give off a weird… vibe? Like a hollows?"

She shook her head. "I may have lost my Shinigami powers, but I can still sense hollows when they are close enough. And I didn't feel anything from Naruto."

Scowling, Ichigo put his hands in his pocket. "But there was something about Naruto… something I couldn't put my finger on. That… vibe I felt around him… It felt… familiar."

Rukia shrugged and began walking again. "Well it definitely wasn't that of a hollow."

Ichigo followed after her, lost in thought.

**xXx**

So lost in thought he was, Ichigo almost ran right into Rukia when she stopped in the street suddenly. She pulled a cell phone out of her pocket and looked at the screen.

"A hollow is about to appear," she said, her voice hardening into 'shinigami mode'.

"Where?"

"Right above us."

Ichigo looked up, and indeed in the sky a large rip was appearing. Out of the black void came the distinct purple-streaked mask of a hollow. It opened its mouth and let out a horrible shriek.

Rukia turned to Ichigo and pulled a red glove with a black flaming skull on it. She slipped a slender hand into it then struck her hand against Ichigo's forehead.

Almost immediately, Ichigo could feel himself being ripped out of his body. It was very unsettling.

He stood there, dressed in his shinigami garb, his large zanpakutou resting on his shoulder while his body slumped to the ground.

Rukia immediately set about moving the body someplace where it would be protected against the violence that was sure to come.

More of the hollows body began to emerge from the rip, and Ichigo could see two thin arms that appeared to have sickles on the end instead of arms. The sun reflected off the blades and Ichigo knew immediately that they weren't just for show. Finally the rest of the body emerged from the tear and the large hollow fell onto the ground below with a crash.

Ichigo looked around his surroundings and frowned. The hollow had landed in the middle of a neighborhood, houses on either side of the black paved street.

If he didn't want unnecessary families losing their homes, he would have to finish the fight quickly.

He looked back up and finally got his first good look at the hollow. Its black body was purely that of an insect. The scythe-like arms extended out of its thorax, and sticking out of its overly large abdomen were sick skinny legs.

Almost immediately Ichigo recognized the hollow as a preying mantis.

The hollow reared back its head and let out another screech before using its multiple legs to scuttle quickly toward him. It was surprisingly fast and Ichigo had barely any time to raise his sword to block its first attack.

Its scythed arms bounced off of the flat side of his blade and Ichigo was pushed back from the force of the blow. His arms still stinging from the block, he lunged forward and cut off three legs on the left side of the insect's body.

It fell down with a crash and deafening roar, its body immobilized with only half of its remaining legs.

Surprising Ichigo, the insect used one of its arms as a crutch and was able to turn toward him. It stuck both of its scythes into the ground and used them to lunge toward Ichigo. Barely having time to dodge, the scythe caught him in the chest, tearing a wound from the left side of his chest to his right.

Blood poured from the wound and Ichigo had to use his sword to balance himself. When he looked up, the mantis was already using its arm to pivot around to launce another on him.

Ichigo stood and lifted his sword, ready to intercept it and cut it across its mask.

As it was lunging toward him Ichigo bent his legs, ready to jump when he hesitated, the words Rukia had told him the other day still ringing in his ears.

He heard Rukia yell his name, but he knew it was already too late. The mantis was already to close for him to avoid.


	9. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Guess what? I don't own Bleach _or_ Naruto!

A/N: Eh, I'm sure alot of older readers are like: WTF?! A chapter?!

Well, the reason I decided to pick this story back up is because someone said: How can I expect people to read my stories when I'm known as the guy who writes a couple chapters and then quits.

At first, my reaction was: Psh!

But then I kinda thought about it, and realized they were right. And besides, I dont wanna be one of those writers who drops their stories. I wanna be one of those who continue to write, although they only update every blue moon.

Once again, this chapter is short, and I hope that doesn't effect the quality of it.

* * *

Naruto sat on a nearby rooftop; his legs dangling over the edge as he watched the battle with Ichigo and the low level hollow progress.

He had to admit, he was rather impressed with the boys fighting potential. According to his sources, he had been a shinigami for less than two weeks, yet already he showed natural talent with a sword.

His energy capacity was enormous, easily fukutaichou level, though his control was pathetic. But, he had never trained it a day in his life, so it was only to be expected.

Since he didn't train however, that raised the question: where did he get all of his power?

From Rukia? That was impossible. She only had the strength of a fourth seat.

Was it because his father was once a captain class shinigami that he inherited such great potential?

Naruto didn't know.

Sure, he himself had been born with a high chakra capacity, but most of that came from the fusing of the Kyuubi with his soul. Other than that, he had to work hard for everything he now had.

Yet this Ichigo, his power seemed to grow at unnatural rates in unnatural amounts of time. In two weeks of being a shinigami, he could already best shinigami who had trained years. With a bit of training… he could become one of the strongest shinigami ever known.

'_I think I see it now…' _Naruto thought, watching Ichigo carefully._ 'So _that's _what you want.'_

Suddenly, the hollow charged, and Ichigo hesitated, the hollow landing a brutal strike across the substitute shinigami chest, blood spraying from the wound. The boy fell to his knees, his eyes staring blankly ahead before he collapsed.

Naruto tsked. Well that was rather… disappointing.

The hollow advanced on the down shinigami, no doubt ready to devour its meal.

"_Oh ruler, mask of flesh and blood, all creations of the universe, fluttering of the wings, ye who bears the name of man! Scorching heat and disorder; evolve the transposition of the southern sea barrier. _Hadou 31: Shakkahou (_Red Flame Gun_)!"

A medium sized fireball shot at the hollow, striking it between the eyes and enveloping the area in dust. When the wind blew, clearing the smoke from the area, it revealed that Rukia had disappeared, managing to grab both Ichigo's spirit and body during the commotion.

Naruto grinned. _'Ooh, smart girl.'_

The hollow was still standing there, howling in utter fury and pain, a large crack on its mask. Naruto sighed; the hollow was too busy clawing at its own face in agony to be of any more use, besides, it had served its purpose.

He stood slowly, patting himself down before straightening with a stretch.

The gigai he was using was specially designed to allow his soul to be freed from his gigai with a mere thought, useful in situations where he couldn't spare even a second to remove himself from his gigai using any other means.

That was how Naruto found himself breaking free from his gigai, the shell without a soul simply crumbling to the ground. His blond hair was once again streaked with red and black, his eyes were once again violet, and he wore his white pants and vest, his sword strapped to his back.

He took a single step forward and blurred from existence, faster than any trained eye could hope to follow, he was in front of the hollow, his sword already in his hands and whistling through the air. His sword pierced through the hollow's mask, the beast not even having a chance to scream before it glowed bright white and dissolved in a shower of spiritual energy.

Landing on the ground with a tap, Naruto sheathed his sword and looked around, not seeing Rukia in the immediate area. There was no way that she would run, seeing as how it was her job to defeat the hollow and all. She must have been hiding somewhere nearby.

He sensed a great reiatsu nearby that was draining fast, most definitely Ichigo's, and next to it, he sensed a suppressed reiatsu that was definitely Rukia's.

He had completed what he had sought out to do, but opportunity presented itself. Maybe he could speed up his mission by a couple weeks…?

Without even lifting a finger, his hollow mask began to form on his face. A red tinge began to distort the air around him. A strong feeling of malice blanketed the area. Behind his mask, Naruto's eyes flashed red.

It was show time.

* * *

After Rukia had fired off the Hadou using what had gathered of her spiritual powers, she had used the smoke as a distraction to grab Ichigo and his body with enough time to spare to flee behind a nearby fence before the smoke cleared.

Rukia heaved in exhaustion, glaring at the two unconscious Ichigo's. If they survived this, she would have to buy some mod souls. Ichigo was _heavy_ and she would rather not be lugging around all that extra weight in her weak human gigai.

Ichigo moaned pitifully besides her, drawing her immediately attention back to him. Now that they were out of immediate harms way (for the moment) she began inspecting his wound, grimacing when she realized she would be unable to heal it without her spiritual powers.

Once again, she cursed the weak gigai she was confined inside and Ichigo for taking all of her powers. If she had still been a normal shinigami, she could have ended the hollows pitiful life in one swipe and then healed Ichigo in another.

Suddenly, the hollow's spiritual signature simply… disappeared. One second it was gone, the next… nothing.

Before Rukia could even look over the wooden fence to investigate, a terrible presence filled the air, sucking the air right from her lungs and forcing her to the ground. Her eyes were wide and her hands trembled as the fearsome reiatsu pressed down on her, powerful, angry, _and evil_.

She had never felt anything like it…! Except, once, when she was a young girl…

But it couldn't be! There had not been rumors of vizard activity in years, in fact, ever since the terrible incident itself!

But the fear she felt was real.

The power that hung in the air, suffocating her, was real.

And the dark deep voice, laced with power that spoke quietly into her ear, was _definitely_ real.

"Boo."

Rukia screamed, the shock overriding the paralyzing killing intent long enough for her to scramble away and turn toward the source of all the chaos.

A fox-masked person stared back at her, their blood red eyes dancing with feral amusement. There was no doubt about it. The person before her was a vizard! Unbidden, a memory of her nii-san rose to the forefront of her mind.

_They were sitting down for their usual tea, a few days after the 'incident' as it was referred to by those not involved. Rukia had not seen her nii-san in days, the incident having required the attention of all captains of the Gotei 13._

_Her brother was behaving rather… peculiar today. His tea had long since gone cold and he was staring at the floor mat distantly, his hands folded under his nose._

"_O-nii-sama?" she asked hesitantly._

_He looked up, as if noticing her for the first time. "Yes, what is it Rukia?"_

"_You've been rather distantly lately… Does it -- Does it have anything to do with the 'incident' everyone is speaking of?"_

_As soon as the question left her lips, she looked away. She and her brother didn't have the… closest of relationships, and more often then not, whenever she questioned him to the doings of the Gotei 13, he would always tell her it was none of her concern._

_He didn't reply right away,_

"_F-Forgive me," she apologized, bowing her head._ _"It's just that--"_

"_It is okay Rukia," Byakuya Kuchiki said, interrupting her. "You are only concerned of your brother's wellbeing… But in regards to your question, the answer is yes. The reason I have been so… withdrawn as of late does indeed have to do with the 'incident' as you call it."_

_Rukia was gaping like a fish, but she didn't care. That was the most her brother had said to her all week. Hell, probably even all month!_

_Deciding to press her luck, Rukia asked quietly, "Wh-What happened?"_

_Byakuya sighed and lifted his teacup, finally taking a sip. He grimaced however, when the cold liquid went down his throat and he set it down immediately. "I'm afraid I can not say." Before Rukia could sigh in disappointment, he continued, "But I can say, that it was one of the few incidents that I have ever been genuinely afraid in my life."_

_Rukia stared. There was no way! Her brother? Scared?_

"_Rukia," Byakuya stated, locking eyes with her. They were serious. Far more serious than they had ever been when directed at her. "I want you to promise me something. Promise me that if you are ever to feel a presence like the one today that you will run."_

_Seeing that for once, her brother looks truly vulnerable, _truly _scared for her wellbeing, Rukia nodded._

But it looked like now -- with the vizard's red-eyed stare pinning her to her spot -- it was one promise that she could not keep.

* * *

When Naruto had frightened Rukia, it had all been in good fun -- at least, to him. But now that she was staring at him, wide-eyed and trembling, it was beginning to bring back rather painful memories.

Behind his mask, he frowned.

He took a step toward her, and she recoiled. A sharp pain went through Naruto's heart, making him hesitate.

Right behind Kuchiki Rukia was none other than Ichigo Kurosaki, a gaping wound on his chest bleeding porously.

Another step forward and Rukia flinched again, scrambling back only to trip over Ichigo. She looked at the unconscious shinigami then back to Naruto, panic clearly evident in her eyes.

He drew his sword slowly, and Rukia whimpered.

Naruto couldn't let his emotions get in the way. He had a mission to perform!

But… she looked so scared, huddled in front of Ichigo, her big violet eyes wide and filled with tears.

Kurosaki Ichigo was right in front of him... This was his chance, why was he hesitating? Didn't he want to be a ninja when he was alive? Well, this was no different; he was simply following his orders… no matter what they told him to do.

But then, involuntarily, his eyes traveld once again to Rukia and his resolve weakened. She was looking at him the same way another girl had looked at him along time ago…. Someone who was very close to him….

A sharp pain shot through Naruto's skull, like a knife being driven into his brain. He bit back a cry of pain. The feeling was encompassing his entire mind, blinding him with the white hot intensity of it.

Suddenly, a cool feeling began to cover the pain, a soft voice whispering in his ear. They spoke too low for him to understand but it calmed him immediately.

As soon as it started, it was gone, leaving Naruto dazed and confused.

His sword still drawn, Naruto stepped forward, placing his sword right over Ichigo's wound.

"No!" Rukia screamed, tears flowing freely down her face, yet making no move to stop him.

His sword began to glow a soft green, and slowly, Ichigo's wound began to heal. Rukia watched on, her eyes wide with shock.

When the wound was healed, Naruto sheathed his sword once more and said gruffly, "He'll live."

Without sparing the downed shinigami a glance, he used shunpo to arrive back at the rooftop where he had deposited his gigai.

Standing there was a blond-haired man with a bucket hat shadowing his eyes. The man took a step forward, his sandals clopping against the cement below. He placed a large hand on Naruto's shoulder. "I'm proud of you Naruto; you didn't go through with it."

Naruto stared at the man for a second before he shrugged the hand off of him. He placed himself back into his gigai, his features once more becoming that of his old self and stood.

"Don't be. The time just wasn't right, but next time…." Naruto let his voice drift off. Then, without warning, he jumped from the building, landing perfectly on his feet and began walking away.

Up on the rooftop, Kisuke Urahara watched the younger blond walk away with a smile.

* * *

The next day, both Ichigo and Rukia were at school, acting the way they usually did. Ichigo was scowling furiously at everyone and Rukia was acting the part of the preppy school girl. That was, until Naruto walked into the room.

They quieted down immediately, sending him wary glances over their shoulder when he took his seat.

He smiled obliviously, hoping to appease whatever suspicions they had of him by looking harmless. They turned away, instead opting to whisper quietly among themselves. He heard his name mentioned and curiosity peaked, he decided to listen in.

"I don't know, Rukia," Ichigo was saying, a frown on his face. "I mean… I know I had my doubts, but I wouldn't go _that _far!"

Rukia glared. "What happened to_, 'hey, doesn't he feel weird? Like a hollow?'"_ She tried to speak in a deep voice, mimicking Ichigo's scowl.

"I _so _don't look like that," Ichigo growled, scowling. "Besides, have you seen the guy? He's an idiot!"

"Hey!" Naruto cried before he could stop himself, drawing the attention of everyone to himself, including Ichigo's and Rukia's.

The teacher had stopped writing on the board and was looking at him in confusion. "What was that, Uzumaki?"

Naruto found himself on the spot. Without stopping to think, he said the first thing that popped into his brain. "I said… Hoo_ray_! A pop quiz!" Everyone continued to look at him weirdly. "I… love quizzes?"

The teacher smirked, turning back to the board with a mutter of "what a weird kid." The rest of the students followed suit, finally directing their attention away from him.

Instead of returning to silence however, everyone began to talk amongst themselves about Naruto's outburst, drowning out whatever Rukia and Ichigo were talking about. He winced, his ears twitching in annoyance as the sounds continued to bounce around in the enclosed room.

He heard bits and pieces of the two shinigami's conversation, but not enough to tell what they were saying about him.

He sighed, laying his head against the cool desk and resisting the urge to cover his ears as the sounds of high school continued to assault him.

His thoughts drifted to the incident yesterday with Ichigo and Rukia, him mind replaying the events again and again, the most prominent memory being Rukia's look.

Had he tried to execute his plan too soon? The obvious answer to that question was a big _yes_. He had only been in the school for a day! But he always was impatient type and didn't like waiting for anything.

The two shinigami would be suspicious of him now. They were already wary and he was sure that they would be watching him closely from now on.

'_It doesn't matter,'_ Naruto thought. _'When the time comes, I will execute my plan and watch the dominoes fall.'_

The bell signaling the end of call rang shrilly.

'_But first, I seriously need to consider getting some earplugs.'_


End file.
